Long, Long Way From Home
by Kat's Pajamas
Summary: When teenage Lauren moves to California, she has plans for popularity. But instead what does she have? A seemingly familiar college drop out neighbor that seems to be hiding something, and the creepy girl who tries too hard to be her best friend. Now what's this game called Minecraft that everybody seems to know about? Now how about getting thrown into that stupid game?
1. New York State of Mind

When I moved to California over summer break, my biggest concern was school. Fitting into a new high school, with new friends, was the scariest thing. When moving to a new place, its a 'fresh start'. Or so my mom says. But really, it's rock bottom, level one, popularity status: zero. Before moving, I made a list of priorities. Popularity, getting a boyfriend, and hit another Instagram follower milestone. But little did I know that my next door neighbor and the creepy girl upstairs would be my biggest concerns.

My name is Lauren Campbell, and I'm fourteen years old. I'm 5'6, average build and I have nothing special about me. I'm that teen you don't give a second glance to. I'm not classified as beautiful, or ugly, smart or dumb. I'm just your average teenage girl to be truthful. My only passion in life is running. Granted, I'm not very fast nor athletic but I just love that triumphant feeling after I go several miles. Also I won't get fat.

I had lived in a town less than an hour from New York my whole life, so the move was a massive road trip cross country. My mom had family in California, so we'd get to be with family I only saw a couple times a year. Why were we moving? Thats a story for another time. But heck, I was pretty excited. Ignoring the fact my parents split up, I'm leaving behind the only life I've ever known and saying goodbye to all my friends and my pool, I'm going to California! Oh joy. The first day everything was normal.

"Are we there yet?" My seven year old brother asked for the thousandth time. Tom was only seven years old, and had the patience and immaturity of a toddler. By then I had cranked up my music to drown out the sounds of him complaining and the sound effects on his game. But when Tom wants to be loud, he can be loud.

"Only another hour honey." Mom told him calmly. Mom had the patience of a saint, which fit in well with her occupation of being a nurse. She was quite strict as well. Maybe that's why she doesn't get along with Dad's free spirit attitude anymore.

Josh sat up in the passenger seat, engrossed in whatever the heck he was doing. I had given up on Josh when he was twelve and I was nine. He's always rather play sports and whatnot outside than pretend with me. Jerk. Tom is seven, and frankly all he does is watch gaming videos on YouTube when Mom lets him use his iPad. Otherwise he just draws things that make zero sense to anyone. But Tom is quiet when he draws, and that's just good enough for us.

When I was seven and Mom was pregnant, I had desperately hoped it would be a girl. But nope, I'm stuck in the middle with two idiots for brothers.

I was focusing intensely on my music while I sent a quick text to my friend when I felt Tom poke me. I ignored him until he punched me. Granted, he's only seven but it still hurt. "What?" I yanked out an earphone and turned my head to glare at him.

In return he handed me a piece of paper. Unsurprised, I took it. It was a drawing by Tom, using Crayola markers. From what I could tell, it was a man with a hat and sword. The drawing was titled 'sparklez' messily in red. I forced a smile as I corrected him. "Tom, 'sparkles' is spelt with an 's' not a 'z'." I knew he'd still spell it the same way no matter what I'd say. Tom pouted once again as I tucked the drawing into his full folder and continued to listen to music as he withdrew a fresh piece of paper.

Fifty-seven minutes, 22 songs, and five drawings later we arrived at our new home. To be blunt, it looked quite, bland. It didn't help either that I knew absolutely no one who lived in the apartment. I had hoped there would be at least a couple girls my age, but then again who really would live here except college drop outs and old people? We were just living here until Mom found a suitable house, whenever that was.

I grabbed several boxes from the truck of our car and stacked them dangerously high on the one I was holding. Then I made the hazardous trek up the stairs. Why didn't I take the elevator? I don't know. Which room was ours again?

My weary feet had reached the top of the staircase, and unfortunately, I tripped. Cardboard boxes tumbled to the ground with their contents spewing out. I hastily began to shove my mom's dishcloths and other various items when I heard a voice above me. "Do you need some help there?" No, I just like throwing my stuff on the ground, thanks.

I looked up to see a man standing a few feet away from me. He had must have climbed up the staircase on the opposite side of the hallway. He was wearing a dark, plain t-shirt, baggy green shorts and had dark hair and eyes. "Uh sure." Brushing away rude thoughts I gave him a quick smile as he stooped down beside me and started grabbing the fallen towels and placing them back in a box. "Thank you."

"No problem." The man responded kindly grabbing two of the box. He followed me down to the opposite end of the hallway and I placed my two boxes next to what I hoped was our apartment door. He followed in suit then spoke. "Did you just move in here?"

"Yup." I replied as I awkwardly realized I had forgot my key inside.

"Well," he started. "I live right over there. Feel free to stop by if you have any questions." He pointed to just another door that we had passed.

"Ok thanks." I thanked him.

"I'm Jordan by the way."

"I'm Lauren. Uh, nice to meet you." We shook hands and exchanged formalities. With a quick goodbye Jordan left for his room. I waited until his door was shut and his footsteps had ceased then I pounded my fist on the door. Which had almost no purpose since my mom was alreadyopening the door.

"Who was that?" she asked me, peering around the door frame.

"Just some random guy." I answered as I shoved the boxes into our apartment. Mom nodded and with one quick look into the vacated hallway, shut the door behind me.

I didn't see Jordan at all for the next few days, my family was unpacking for the most part and my mom was settling into her new job at her company. Two school days also passed uneventfully. But after most of our possessions were unloaded I finally had the liberty to relax. But I can't relax without my phone, and my phone is dead, and of course I left the charger in the car.

I exited the apartment and started walking down the hallway when I almost tripped over my untied shoelace. I bent over and began tying the converse laces when I heard someone. The voice was muffled, barely audible even. Was this Jordan's apartment? I couldn't remember. Frankly, I hadn't thought about him since I texted my friend Kristi. I had filled in Kristi with every detail about our move in a two hour phone call, even the encounter with Jordan.

After double-knotting my laces I quietly pressed my ear up to the wall. I was met with confusion. It was Jordan alright.

"Oh! It's your boy! Get wrecked son! And, double kill! Yes! Oh. Oh! Half a heart, half a heart! Run! I'm out! Im out! Get outie."

At that point I had yanked my head away. Was he talking to someone? It didn't sound like he was running, and no one responded to him. Really creeped out I quickly left the hallway. Oh yes. I definitely need my phone right now.

"I think he's like obsessed with talking to himself or something." I gushed to Kristi. After fleeing down the hallway I had grabbed my phone charger from the car and dashed back to my room. This time I had remembered my key and Jordan's room was silent. "He like, kept talking to himself and yelling even after I was walking away."

Kristi didn't get my point. "Is he cute?" she asked me. I could picture her sitting on her floral duvet with a devious smile as she twirled her curly hair around her finger. Kristi had a habit of twirling her hair that it got to the point of ridiculousness.

I sighed. That was Kristi. "Jordan's like, twenty-something." I patiently explained to her once more. She didn't get it.

"But is he cute?" she insisted again, this time more urgently.

"Do you want me to take a picture?" I asked her bitterly, already knowing the answer.

"Oh my gosh yes!" she gushed happily. I couldn't help but smile at Kristi's usual giddy attitude. I opened my mouth to speak once more, but my friend interrupted me. "Oh sorry Lauren, I gotta go!" she exclaimed without a hint of remorse. Before I could ask why, she spoke again. "Julie and Alexia are here! We're going to the mall!" I heard someone laughing in the background of the call. "Text you later!" was all I heard before the call ended.

Julie and Alexia? Since when did Kristi hang out with those brats? I'd only been gone for a week. Kristi didn't even ask for clothing advice this morning like usual! She better not wear that skirt. I'd just stalk her Instagram later. Heartbroken and betrayed I tossed my phone carelessly onto my desk and stomped out of my bedroom, slamming the door behind me. Fine then. I guess I'll hang out with my new friends. One catch- I didn't have any.

In such a large high school, one small freshman like me flies under the radar by the thousands of students' attention. I had barely remembered my classes, and only a few kids who were in most of my classes stuck out. A tall skinny boy with a freakish amount of freckles named Brian and a girl about my size with pink highlights name Gillian. Neither had gone out of their way to say anything but' hello' to me, and frankly I couldn't care less. I'll find a clique to hang with.

I entered the kitchen to find Tom and Joshua sitting at the kitchen counter. Mom was at work, of course. Josh was texting his newfound friends and Tom was playing some random game on his iPad. Both of my brothers looked up at my much announced entrance.

"I'm going for a run." I declared promptly walking over to my sneakers by the door. Tom looked back down to his game but Josh continued to stare at me in question.

"In that?"

Confused I looked down at myself. Ripped up and faded shorts, and a tight fitted pink tank top met my eyes. "Ugh!" Infuriated I avoided Josh's eyes and stalked to my room with clenched fists. I felt his gaze on me as he snickered. "Shut up!"

I threw open my bedroom door and slammed it once more. I quickly changed into a pair of my gym shorts and a Nike t-shirt. I groomed my brown hair into a sleek ponytail and slid a headband on to keep the loose strands of hair out of my face. Tucking my phone carefully into my pocket I slipped my earphones on and headed out of my room. Josh didn't look at me until I was tying my shoelaces.

"You do know Mom said not to head out alone right?" Gritting my teeth I summoned up the coldest glare I could and looked at my brother as I stood up.

"Yeah, well I don't care. I'll text you if I'm getting mugged." I spat sarcastically and slammed yet another door. Angry at Kristi, angry at Josh, angry at my parents for splitting up, I bolted down the hallway as tears threatened to fall. Can't they think of me for once?

Do they know how much it hurts? Neglecting all safety Mom taught me, I cranked up the music until it drowned out any other sounds.

Dashing down the flights of stairs and out the front door, I immediately felt better. Granted, it was city air, but it's better than the stuffy apartment and Kleenex smell that accompanied it. The weather was sweltering, guess I wouldn't be out here long. My mind felt clearer as I rounded the corner. I knew well enough that Josh would tell Mom no matter what. But to be fair, I did hide his phone in the tissue box for three days before we moved. Mom was going to be pretty ticked off, to say in the least.

Well, I'd only be running around the base of the apartment several times. I was starting to get a bit of a headache from sprinting so fast down the stairs. As I rounded the other corner of the building I saw Jordan. With a unicycle. Why the heck was Jordan riding a unicycle?

I slowed my pace a bit as I stared at him. My neighbor was definitely riding a unicycle. There was another man too, that I'd never seen before holding up a camera to record Jordan. I gaped as I ran by them, in awe at Jordan riding a unicycle around in the parking garage. He was actually pretty good. He then grabbed the seat and bunny hopped on the unicycle? Something was certainly messed up about this man. The other man casually looked towards my direction, and then waved. In the split second before I lost sight of them, I made the decision to not wave. I heard laughing drifting in my direction and the waving man yell loudly, "Do a backflip now!" even though my music was earsplitting.

Uh, what? Was Jordan secretly some circus freak escapee? Unsettled, I chose to run around the back of the building, avoiding any other awkward confrontations. I'd still run though, I mean I was feeling pretty tired and my headache was getting worse, but you have to push yourself, you know? maybe I could join the track team at the high school, if they had one. Then I might meet some new people. I turned my music down a little bit, and thought.

Was Kristi really ditching me for Julie and Alexia? I mean, I could only still visit during vacation, but still! Kristi and I had been best friends for years. I had totally saved Kristi's social life by knocking some sense into her on wearing her boots to the Halloween dance in eight grade. Not to mention when I told Chris off for asking her out. She deserves better. And well, she can't be dating before me. Is this really how she repays all my favors? Now on this Saturday morning, I had zero friends save the ugly girl with braces and like, bifocals. She'd kept asking me what my interests were, and we had nothing in common, besides the fact she lived in my same apartment like two floors above me. Sorry girl, I don't care for Doctor Who , the mishmash of sounds you call dubstep, and duct taping everything in sight. I politely declined going over to her apartment to do the upcoming science project together. I'll fly solo until I find someone less freaky. Never mind, I don't think she'd even count as a friend. Was it safe to go back to the other side of the building without anymore awkward encounters? I don't know, and truthfully, I was feeling a little dizzy… My world snapped into darkness as I lost consciousness.

* * *

><p><strong>Why hello there! Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed or want more please review, follow and favorite.<strong>

**Foreword:**

**This WILL turn into a people-get-sucked-into-Minecraft story, just to let you know. I'll spend the first few chapter introducing characters and some plotlines before delving deeper into the story. Also, *wink wink* do you know who our unicycle riding friend here is? There will be no romance going on with him, don't worry. Or worry. Whatever you prefer. So enjoy since there is more to come in the future!**

**-Katica **


	2. Play The Game Tonight

I was so uncomfortable. I thought my bed was softer than this. Who was talking? Was that Mom? Why was Mom here? She came home from work at seven and it's only...

I opened my eyes to a piercing light. Instantly I retreated and shut my eyes with a groan. "Josh." I muttered drowsily. "Shut the light off! I'm trying to sleep." Then I heard a new voice.

"...was passed out on the sidewalk." What? Why was Jordan in my bedroom? I blinked several times to get my bearings. Squinting, I made out the interior of the living room. Oh. I looked up to see Josh sitting on the lounge chair opposite me. Did he look, concerned?

"Drink." He commanded and pointed to one of the several bottles of water.

I downed half the bottle. I gasped for breath as I set it down on the coffee table. "What happened?"

"You passed out from dehydration." Josh responded simply staring at the water bottles. "Remember? You were out running and-"

"Yeah I know." I interrupted him. I opened my mouth to ask how I got back here when Mom swooped in.

"Lauren! Make sure you drink lots of fluids," she urged me as she handed me a new water bottle. I brushed her aside and took the half empty one to finish. "And what were you thinking going out and running midday in this weather without my consent?"

Sheepishly I returned to the water bottle. "If it wasn't for Nick and Jordan you might've been out there for hours!" Mom practically sobbed as she stroked my damp hair.

"What?" I peered into the kitchen to see Jordan and the other man who must be Nick standing awkwardly by the door. I stared at each of them until I broke eye contact. So one of them, carried me up here? I flushed bright red. That's so embarrassing! Mom saw my pink face and took that as an excuse to shove another water bottle towards me.

I may have swallowed a bit too fast, since I started choking. Hacking, I spewed out the water all over the front of my shirt, which caused my hand to shake, which caused my hand to let more water out of the water bottle. Coughing violently I quickly set the bottle on the table, spilling it in the process and began to double over wheezing with my mother peering anxiously at me.

With a quick glance at Nick and Jordan they looked anything but comfortable as they watched. Mom followed my gaze and stood up, walking over to them.

"Thank you two so much for helping Lauren." Mom said sincerely. "Would you like to stay over for dinner? We certainly have more than enough and it would be wonderful to meet our new neighbors."

The two men exchanged glances before Nick stepped forwards with a suspicious smile. "I'd love to Mrs. Campbell, but I already have dinner plans for tonight. But Jordan here," Nick forcefully slapped his friend on the back. "Is totally free." I feel like I'm the only one who caught the death glare Jordan sent Nick.

Jordan mustered a smile and looked at his companion. "But uh, Nick. Didn't your plans get canceled?" He tried.

Nick returned the smile, forced. "Oh no Jordan. It was just a misunderstanding." He replied sweetly.

Mom beamed at them. "Oh it's okay. Maybe another time?"

"Yes Nick!" Perhaps you could come another time?" Jordan practically begged Mark.

I looked over at Josh, who was smiling too. Are the two really that afraid of Mom? Well then again, they should be.

"Well, I'll be off then." Nick said with a triumphant grin. "I'll see you later Jordan. It was nice to meet you."

"It was nice to meet you too." Mom smiled as Mark closed the door behind him, leaving Jordan alone at the doorstep.

As Jordan stood awkwardly and uncomfortable at our door, Mom turned back to the kitchen. "The pasta is almost ready Jordan, you can take a seat."

Jordan nodded and took a seat next to the head of the table. He sat staring at the intricate lines of the wooden dining table. "I'm going to go change." I gestured to my wet clothes and dashed into my room to throw on a clean outfit. I heard Mom from the other room as I started to brush my hair and sweep it into a bun.

"Josh can you come here a second? Ok, can you get Tom? He's in his room drawing." I heard Josh walking across the hall from me and I quietly exited our room and walked into the kitchen. Only seconds later as Mom was walking towards the table with several plates of food, Tom ran over the the opposite side of the table and shoved a piece of paper over it. Glancing over Tom's shoulder I saw Jordan's eyes widen, then his lips tugged upward into an embarrassed smile. I stood up and craned my neck but couldn't make out what work of art Tom had produced this time, that made poor Jordan even more uncomfortable.

Mom nodded and smiled. "Very nice. Now wash up for dinner." Tom took his drawing in his hands and skipped off to the bathroom.

Josh started walking to the table, and I followed in suit.

Soon Mom was sitting at the head of the table, with Tom on her left, Jordan on her right. Then Josh was on the other side of Jordan and I next to Tom.

As we quietly consumed our noodles, Mom made awkward small talk. "So Jordan," she began. "What do you do for a living?" She casually asked.

"Well I actually do some game designing." Jordan replied.

"What college do you go to?" Mom asked almost casually.

"You're not sparkly." Tom pouted as he stared at Jordan.

On hearing the words, Jordan coughed violently and choked on his noodles for a couple seconds. His face turned bright red as he struggled to swallow. I followed his gaze to find he was looking at Tom with an odd look, and a smile.

Mom pursed her lips and cast Tom a look of disdain. "Tom don't be rude. She looked back at Jordan with curiosity. "Now what were you saying Jordan?" She hinted.

If it was possible, Jordan looked even more uncomfortable. "I er- left college after a couple years." Mom's calm smile down turned into a tiny frown of distaste.

"It just wasn't the right fit for me." Jordan hurriedly explained, as if apologizing. Mom was almost obsessed with our schooling. When I brought home a B+ in middle school she practically blew up since I bombed the history test. I patiently tried to explain that B's were average, but she insisted I wasn't average.

The meal passed uneventfully with simple small talk, with Tom grinning like an idiot at Jordan, like they shared some big secret. Boys.

When the meal was over Jordan offered to help with the dishes, but Mom only shooed him away and started to put the dishes back into the cupboards after Josh and I dried them. Tom waved goodbye. As Jordan walked out the door I felt myself relaxing. That is, until I noticed my phone that was sitting on the kitchen counter was missing.

My heart skipped a beat. My thoughts immediately raced to Jordan. I knew there was something suspicious about him! But why would he steal my phone? I looked to mom, panic lacing my voice. "Mom, where's my phone?" I scanned the kitchen. Did Jordan really rob me? How did I not see it? Maybe I should-

"Lauren, I took it." Mom said calmly in her 'I'm right and you're wrong' voice.

I felt anger boil over the edge. How dare she! "What?" I shrieked.

At this point Josh and Tom promptly left the room, sensing the brink of a battle.

"You disobeyed me and went outside after I told you not to." she patiently explained to me as she dried a glass and put in in the cupboard. "You've lost your phone for the weekend."

Mom looked at me with an aggressive gaze, as if challenging me to rebel. I did. 'What?" I repeated, raising my voice.

"Lauren quiet down! The neighbors will hear you." she scolded me.

"I don't care!" I responded, but I lowered my tone regardless. "We just moved here, I have like no friends, and I just freaking passed out!"

Mom gave me a warning look. "Don't be ridiculous. You still have Kristi and Sarah and you're bound to make some new friends soon."

I gave an exasperated sigh. "Sarah still hasn't texted me back and Kristi has new friends."

Mom tried again. "What about the girl that lives a couple floors above us? You could invite her over."

I cringed. "Irma?" I pictured the girl with the anime tees and duct tape purse. "She's weird. I-I don't have any friends." My voice cracked horribly and tears threatened to spill. Mom, with her freaky parenting senses opened her arms.

"Honey come here." She held her arms out and I automatically walked into them. She stroked my hair and spoke. "You have such a lovely personality, you'll make new friends." I nodded and held tears back as I sniffed in my mom's comforting lavender perfume.

"Can I have my phone back?" I sobbed into her shoulder.

Mom started shaking and I realized she was laughing. "No."

I nodded mutely and pulled away as Mom continued. "I'm going to head out to get some pillows." She told me. "Do you want to come?"

"No thanks." I responded. The search for my phone must commence. Unless it's in her purse. I cast a hopeful glance towards Mom's Coach bag. As she headed to the bathroom I risked a quick peek into her bag. Checkbook, wallet, tictacs, her phone, but not my phone. Darn. With a quick goodbye and making me promise to hydrate Mom left.

I headed to my room with a heavy feeling in my heart. Now what should I do? I collapsed on my blue bedspread and stared dismally at my ceiling. Then I leaned over to grab a cardboard box. I lifted the box onto my bed and crossed my legs as I yanked away the duct tape that sealed it.

Ah. It was my box full of random trinkets. I started unloading various objects when Joshua opened my door. He leaned against the doorframe with a smug grin on his face. "What?" I asked.

"If you pay me fifty bucks," Josh paused for dramatics. "I'll call your phone." Thanks Josh. Everyone just adores ambiguity.

"What do you mean?" I asked, slowly unwrapping a ceramic dish I made in the seventh grade.

"Mom asked me to silence your phone." Josh told me.

"And you didn't." A slow grin spread across my face as I set the lumpy pink coil bowl on my bed.

"Fifty bucks." He repeated.

"I could just find a public phone and call it."

"While you're doing that I could find your phone and silence it." Josh smirked. Great. He'd clearly thought this through.

An idea popped into my mind and a sly grin appeared on my face. "One sec."

I dodged Josh's suspicious glare in the doorway and ran to the kitchen and snagged the cordless phone. I spun around to face my brother with my finger hovering over the the six.

He held his hands up in the sign of surrender. "Lauren…" he started. I made the mistake of accidentally pressing a button. As I glance down to clear it, Josh dove. I shrieked as his much stronger hand grabbed my wrist. He only held on for a second, before letting go.

But with a yelp I threw open the door and ran into the hallway. I sprinted down the hall and spun around to face my attacker. Instead, Josh had his head sticking out of the door. Realizing my mistake I ran to the door, but mere feet away Josh slammed it in my face. I pounded my fists against the door. "Josh! Let me in!"

"Slip a fifty under the door or call your phone." Came his response.

"What? No!" I shrieked. "I don't even carry that kind of money on me and my money is in my-" I quickly cut myself off. No use telling him where my money is hidden.

Josh laughed, an unforgiving sound that made you afraid to fall asleep first. "Sucks for you." Half a minute later Counting Stars wafted through the door. "Found it!" he cried. "And, silence!"

"Josh!" I whined, trying to orientate myself to where my music was coming from. No such luck.

"Tell me where your money is or you're not coming back inside."

"I'll wait for Mom." I called back leaning up against the door. About an hour and a half. Darn. A new idea popped into my mind. "Tom?" I cupped my hands and shouted in the crack between the door and wall. I heard a muffled 'yes' before I continued. "Tom I'll play uh, Mindcraft with you if you open the door." I crossed my fingers.

I heard approaching footsteps, and my heart leaped, until I heard Josh. "Tommy, want some chocolate? Don't let Lauren in." By the satisfied chewing sounds I assumed I had lost the battle.

"Get a soul Josh!" I yelled. "I just passed out from dehydration!" Several moments later the door unlocked and a water bottle shot out from the narrow crack. The door slammed shut before the water bottle even touched the ground. "Thanks." I said sarcastically.

"Its Minecraft." I heard Tom say through the door as he smacked his lips together while he devoured the candy.

"Whatever." I shot back annoyed.

I was tempted to call Mom, but opted against it. She'd demand to know why I wasn't always carrying my key with me. Then I'd probably loose my phone for another week. Instead I set to wander amongst the hallways. I strolled past Jordan's door tossing, catching, and missing the cordless phone and water bottle while I was walking. I can't juggle. Before I knew it I was two floors above mine and I still hadn't seen a sign of anyone. Which I was glad for, since how weird would it be to see a sweaty barefoot girl roaming the hallways with a cordless phone? Before I knew it, I was standing in front of Irma's apartment door. Maybe amongst other weird talents she could juggle. Without a second of hesitation I knocked. Why? I have no idea. For all I knew, this wasn't even her apartment, or her parents would open the door to me standing their cluelessly. But neither of those happened.

Irma opened the door with a hint of surprise. "Hello!" I gave an awkward wave. "I uh, was wondering if you wanted to hang out?"

Irma blinked, then smiled. "Sure!" She said and opened the door wider, beckoning me in. "Cookie?" She offered, gesturing to a plate of chocolate cookies neatly stacked on a plate on the counter.

"Er- no thanks." I politely declined. Her apartment looked surprisingly clean and too much alike mine for someone so eccentric.

Irma walked down the hall with her long brown hair in a braid swaying back and forth. I knew we were heading to her bedroom, after all our apartments are basically identical.

When Irma pushed open the door, I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. "Oh gosh." I said stepping inside.

Posters lined nearly every inch of her walls, overlapping each other. Rainbow origami cranes hung from the ceiling that matched a colorful geometric patterned bedspread. An expensive computer packed with gaming consoles stacked in a shelf nearby sat in the far corner. Stuffed animals lined the shelves and odd trinkets were scattered amongst them. Oh she's a hoarder. But it looked, nice, somehow, in its organized chaos. "Oh gosh." I repeated again.

Irma laughed at my reaction, assuming it was a pleasant one. I plastered a smile on my face and turned towards her. "Obsessed maybe?" She gave me a sly smile in return.

"Do you play any video games?" She casually asked me, but I knew my next words must be chosen carefully. She flopped on the bed on her stomach and looked up at me.

"No, I've never really played anything but Flappy Bird and Candy Crush." Wrong words.

"Real gaming." Irma pointed out.

I shrugged. "Nothing I guess."

Her grey eyes widened. "Nothing nothing?" I shook my head.

Irma jumped off her bed and danced over to her computer. "I have a feeling you don't really like shooting games?" She guessed.

I shook my head again, even though she wasn't facing me. "Nope. Do you even have any of those?" I asked.

Irma shook her head as well. "Nothing too major. Let me show you a game called Minecraft."

"My little brother plays that. Minecraft." I told her thoughtfully. She turned around in her chair.

"PC, PE, or XBox?" She asked pushing her glasses higher up on the bridge of her nose.

"Uh." What? He just plays on his iPad." I confirmed. Irma nodded and her glasses slunk down the bridge of her nose as she turned back to her monitor.

"May I ask why you are holding a phone?" She politely asked, booting up her computer.

"Huh? Oh." I just realized the phone as still in my hand. " I was trying to find my phone and my brother locked me out cause I didn't pay him fifty bucks." My explanation made zero sense, but Irma nodded regardless, as if she totally understood.

Irma stood up and patted her seat."W,A,S,D to move, mouse to look around, right click to destroy, left click to place or interact, E for inventory."

I looked at her as she sat down on her bed. "Isn't there like, monsters and stuff?" I asked as I tentatively sat down.

"You're on creative, which means you can't die." Irma told me with a smile.

"Okay then." I sat down in her swivel chair, set my phone on the desk, and stared at the screen. It was all brown with a message 'Loading Chunks'. I waited patiently for a moment and twirled a strand of loose hair around my fingers. Then the screen grew dark, and I found myself standing in what looked to be a forest. Except everything was in blocks. I gripped the mouse with my hand and spun it around in circles. The screen darted around to view different angles of my spot. I clicked and held and a pale rectangular prism started to flail. "Is that my arm?" I asked her, turning around.

"Yep!" Irma nodded enthusiastically, watching me with wide eyes. "W,A,S,D to move."

I turned back to the screen, the found the controls. I tapped W. My character moved forward. Then A. Sideways. I walked up to a tree by sidestepping and clicked. The center block of wood disappeared. I moved the mouse up to view the tree top. It didn't fall. "Gravity..?" I asked.

"Nope. Only a few blocks have gravity."

"Oh. Okay."

I walked around the forest punching trees until I saw something pink in the distance, hiding behind a tree. I moved my character up close to it, and it turned around to face me with a snort. "A pig?"

"Yep!"

"What other animals are there? Are there pandas?"

Irma squinted her eyes and looked to the right. "No pandas. But pigs, chickens, cows, sheep, ocelots, horses, mules, donkeys, and wolves. Oh! Also bunnies and squids and giant spiders."

"Giant spiders?" I repeated. I don't have arachnophobia or anything, but bugs still kinda bug me. No pun intended.

Irma swatted her hand nonchalantly, I noticed a bulky red ring on her finger that looked like a plastic thing from some toy vending machine. "Mobs are turned off, nothing will spawn."

I had no idea what she was saying, but I nodded. At Irma's instruction, I hit 'E'. "Oooh!" I squealed looking at all the colorful blocks. Irma helped me select several ones I liked and exited out of the menu.

"Now build something."

"Like what?"

"Anything."

I frowned as I wielded a purple block. Anything? I started to place the blocks in disarray. "What's the point of all this?" I asked her.

"Well this is only creative. On creative you have everything at your disposal to do whatever you want. In survival you start with nothing and have to craft, mine, and build your way to good stuff." Irma told me as she stared at the screen over my shoulder. I glanced at my phone next to the monitor. About an hour until Mom is back home. I sighed. I might as well try to make friends instead of moping in the hallways.

"Maybe you should go exploring!" Irma sang as she jumped off her bed and skipped over to me. I had gotten a better feel for the controls as I left my purple and black box of a home that was built around what Irma said was a birch tree. "Go that way!" Irma pointed to just another direction behind my house. I obeyed and started walking until I reached a meadow of flowers.

Time went by, and I had to admit, Irma was growing on me in her quirky way. She wasn't best friend material for a long shot by my standards, but she was nice enough. Her gaming and weaving obsessions were a bit over the top, but the bracelets she made looked pretty cool.

"So people have practically whole YouTube channels dedicated to them playing Minecraft?" I asked Irma, though I already knew the answer. I had seen all of the huge gaming channels with Minecraft, but never actually viewed their videos.

Irma nodded enthusiastically. "There's this one YouTuber, CaptainSparklez."

"CaptainSparklez?" I repeated with a laugh as I rolled the word around in my mouth. It sure sounded familiar.

"I saw him at Subway a couple weeks ago and he let me take a picture with him." She told me.

"That's cool. How many subs does he have?" I asked her, genuinely curious about how big and important these people were.

"Over eight million." Irma told me with a grin.

"Can I see?" I asked her. Irma nodded and started to reach for the phone on her nightstand when the door opened.

It was Irma's mother. She was a couple inches taller than me with dark brown hair like her daughter's swept messily into a bun. Her blue eyes sparkled and her face was marked by laugh lines. She was wearing faded jeans marred with paint stains and charcoal smears and her green blouse was the same. "Irma I- oh!" On seeing me, Irma's mom smiled.

"Hi Mrs. Harvey." I gave an embarrassed smile and stood up. "I'm Lauren Campbell. I live a couple floors below here. Irma and I have some classes together.

"Oh Lauren!" Mrs. Harvey gushed, grabbing my hand and shaking it vigorously. "You have science, art, P.E. and math with Irma, yes?" She dropped my hand.

Taken aback, I stuttered. "Y-yes ." I honestly hadn't realized Irma was with me in those classes.

"Oh just call me Violet dear!" Violet crowed. "I'll leave you too ladies now. Will you be staying for dinner Lauren?"

"Dinner?" I repeated. Oh gosh, it was already four o'clock. "I actually should be going soon."

"Oh that's too bad." Violet's smile wavered. "Feel free to stop by again any time though."

"Sure." I said automatically, possibly lying. "We'll I'll be off then. Bye Irma."

"Buh bye!" Irma stuck her hand high in the air and waved. As a turned to go, Irma said my name. "Don't forget your phone! Also do you wanna sit with me at lunch? I can introduce you to some of my friends."

Irma snagged the phone off the shelf and tossed it to me as I turned around. "Uh sure. Maybe." Irma had friends? Irma gave me a smile full of braces and seemed to take it as a yes. I thanked her politely for having me over and left the apartment, walking by the plate of blue cookies and tossing my empty water bottle in the trash on my way.

It was a lonely walk down the hallway. I only passed an elderly man carrying groceries down the hall. I suppose I should've offered to help him, but by the time I realized that I was at the other end of the hallway. He was fine anyway.

When I reached my door, I promptly knocked. My mom opened the door seconds later, with a smile. "Did you have fun? Josh said you went to a friend's."

"Yep. Irma." I told her, hiding the cordless phone behind my back and rocking back and forth on my bare feet.

"Maybe you should invite Irma and her family over for dinner." Mom hinted, with a triumphant smile on her face.

"Mom." I whined. "We only have six chairs. And she's busy."

"Well then maybe another time." Mom told me.

I nodded, then started walking to my room. Well maybe a little detour is in order. I barged through the door to Josh's room, expecting him to be counting my dollars or to be texting my friends on my phone. Instead he was at his desk, finishing what looked to be math homework. "I don't have it." He told me.

"Well, where'd you put it?" I snarled leaning against the doorframe like Josh had only hours ago.

"I left it where it was. And now you have to be a good little obedient brat for another day. Goodbye." Josh turned back to his calculus.

"Where is it?" I demanded.

"Goodbye."

"Josh. Come on!"

"Lauren get out of my room!" He bellowed.

I was already halfway down the hallway when Mom yelled. "Lauren! Leave your brother alone."

I sat down on the comfy chair next to where Mom's laptop was set up. I pulled the computer onto my lap and exited out of her email.

A minute later I was facing the YouTube homepage. I typed 'minecraft' into the search engine, then waited to see what my search had yielded. The Internet was painfully slow at the moment. Finally it loaded to show several Minecraft videos. Frankly, they all looked pretty weird. I scrolled down to see if any looked remotely interesting, or had a familiar username.

Now who was that YouTuber Irma mentioned? I searched 'captainsparklez'. Oh gosh. As the screen slowly filled, I clicked the profile of the user CaptainSparklez. But YouTube decided against it and I was a second too late. Instead, an advertisement for some animal shelter stared at me with sad puppies. I groaned and hit the back arrow. Stupid advertisement. This time when the page loaded, I paused until the videos displayed. Then I clicked CaptainSparklez's profile.

"Lauren!" Mom called.

"One second!" I yelled back as the channel loaded. It looked like someone just threw up Minecraft all over the page. I clicked on one of the most recent videos, titled with the word 'Mianite'. I waited for the page to load.

"Lauren! Dinner!" The voice got closer until Mom came into view. "Your food's getting cold."

I glanced back at the page, still loading. Then I exited out of it as it finally finished. Sorry Sparklez. You'll have to wait. I slammed the laptop shut, pushed in my chair, and headed to dinner.

On Monday I returned to school happily with my phone. Now that I looked, I realized Irma was actually in several of my classes. She usually sat far in the back of the room, staring distantly out the window.

When lunch came I strolled into the cafeteria. I instantly found Irma waving frantically to me from across the room, colorful bracelets stretching up to almost her elbow. She was sitting alone beside an Asian boy I recognized from my study hall. I glanced around hesitating, by now Irma probably knew I had spotted her. Well, not like I have anywhere else to sit. After my first step three girls flocked to my side.

"Hello!" The girl with pink highlights from most of my classes blocked my view of Irma. Gillian was her name."Do you want to sit with us?" Gillian followed my gaze to Irma, and frowned. "That is, if you're not already sitting somewhere."

I looked between Gillian and the two girls beside her. Here was my chance. Now I wouldn't have to sit with the misfits. I felt a pang of guilt, I missed Kristi. But heck, she ditched me first. Whose fault is it? "Sure!" I responded brightly with a smile. I might find a good group to hang with after all. I turned to walk away with them when I caught Irma's expression out of the corner of my eye. She slowly lowered her hand with a frown. The boy next to her laughed as he stared at me. Whatever.

I spent my lunch with Gillian, Angela, Clara, and several other girls. As I nibbled on my peanut butter and jelly sandwich I felt guilt gnawing away at my stomach. I had kind of ditched Irma. I tried to distract myself by laughing at Clara's impersonations of some of the obnoxious boys. But then it went too far.

"Can you believe Irma actually asked me to be her partner for the science project?"

Angela nodded vigorously at Clara's words. "I know! Who does she think she is?"

I choked on my sandwich and swallowed looking up at her. "Anyone want a whole wheat eggplant and rhubarb cookie?" Clara held up one of her Oreos and stuck out her front teeth, imitating Irma's massive overbite.

"Hey. Maybe you should stop." I said too loudly. Angela stopped her snorting laughter and looked at me with surprise.

"Problem?" She asked rudely. The whole table was suddenly staring at me with narrowed eyes.

My social life was on the line. I smiled and forced a laugh. "Just kidding!" Feeling severely uncomfortable I stood up and threw my trash away. When I came back Gillian was whispering to Angela, their eyes trained on me. I sat for a moment, feeling their eyes bore into me, as painful as lasers. No more jokes about Irma were made as the general table conversation moved to celebrity gossip, but a sense of unease was still present.

When I got back to my apartment after school I saw Jordan in the hallway. I ducked my head as I walked by, and thankfully he was talking on the phone.

"...and kill Tom on Mianite after we..." The snip of conversation caused my heart to skip a beat.

Tom? Kill Tom? Kill my little brother? My brain told me I was being irrational, and I calmed down as Jordan turned the corner. There it was again. What's Mianite? I saw it on the YouTuber's channel page. Probably something Minecraft related. Better ask Irma.

The next day during school before classes started I managed to find Irma's locker. The fuzzy green border that snaked along the edge and 'Irma!' made of little magnets gave it away.

I stood patiently by her locker, thankful it was only a few feet from the girl's restroom, it would only look like I was waiting for someone. Only a couple minutes later Irma practically skipped down the hallway. She was wearing leggings that looked like they had comic book pages all over them and a bright blue t-shirt that looked like it was made of puzzle pieces. Combat boots and bulky headphones around neck completed the outfit. A wide smile covered Irma's face when she reached her locker, it shrunk a bit on seeing me.

"Hello!" She waggled her finger at me and started to open her locker.

"Hi." I responded, by now her locker had swung open in a wide arc. "Wow. That was fast." I commented in surprise.

Irma didn't even look at me as she stowed her backpack in her locker. "I practice. Time trials."

I shuffled my binder and books to my other arm. "So um, I just have a question about Minecraft." I lowered my voice and glanced around to make sure no one had heard. It felt weird to actually be curious about just some random video game.

Irma immediately brightened at my question. "Ooh! Really?" I glanced at the clock, I has to hurry up to be at class on time. "There's a Minecraft wiki with lots of-"

"What's Mianite?" I finally blurted out, interupting her rudely.

She didn't mind. "Mianite?" Irma's grin grew enormous as she started to talk speedily. "Remember those servers I told you about?" She didn't let me answer. "Well Mianite is a server that has only certain people whitelisted, like only ten people play on it like Capt-" Irma's words were cut off when the bell loudly rang, signaling the start of school.

"Gotta go!" I waved to Irma and dashed down the hallway. I just can't be late for a class. Seconds after I walked through the doorway, the bell rang.

I smiled until realized I still had to get changed. I ran into the locker room and quickly threw on my gym clothes. I met my fellow students by the door to outside. Really? Mr. Carver was still making us play frisbee in the rain and when it's like forty degrees out? This is child abuse!

I caught a flash of Irma's curly hair as she wove through the mob of our classmates to find someone. By the time we got down to the field, we were all drenched and shivering.

On my team are three obnoxiously competitive boys, the annoying bratty girl who can't shut her mouth, and some girl who seriously needed to get in shape. But our team stinks. Like, really bad.

Eric started the game with an awful throw into a tree lining the field. While the boys were obnoxiously laughing about it, Irma, who was on the other team, set her heart on climbing the tree to retrieve the lost frisbee. Even when we had about twenty extras. She managed to get it with an idiotic grin on her face while the boys and a few of the girls were whooping and cheering. Mr. Carver was totally oblivious, like usual. He was probably picking his nose or something.

"Hey Lori!" I sighed and glanced over to the blonde girl on the other field. Why was Irma throwing the frisbee to Lori? She was in the other game. I heard Eric call my name, and I turn around just in time to see the red frisbee hurtling towards my face. Next thing I know I'm on my back on the wet grass and the world goes black from the second time that week. That can't be too healthy.

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I am not associated with, nor do I own Mojang or rights to its game; Minecraft.<strong>

**Poor Lauren. She has no idea what's to come in the next chapter, where the real adventure unfolds.**

**As far as I know now, a new chapter will be up every Tuesday until further notice. Once again, thank you all so much for reading! It really means a lot to me. Please feel free to follow, favorite, and review if you want more, and sooner. Helpful critique is welcomed. Thank you.**

**-Kat**


	3. In My Dreams

"Lauren. Lauren." I heard the voice distantly. "C'mon Lauren. Wake up already." My eyes fluttered open to see someone hovering over me. Shrieking I jumped away and fell right off the bed. Bed? What? I gathered my surrounding to see we were in a small cave. It didn't stretch very far back, and torches were evenly placed to light the rocky walls.

I felt my composure abandon me and my bottom lip wobbled. "Where am I?" I scrunched up against the cold stone wall and stared up at my captor. "And who are you?"

"It's Isaac." On seeing my blank face he continued. "I'm in your study and I sit with Irma at lunch." Without waiting for a response Isaac went to the front of the cave and peered out of a hole leading into darkness.

Now that he mentioned it, I did remember his voice. He was the antisocial kid who sat scrunched up at his laptop all during study. My kind was brimming with questions, but I repeated my older one. "Where are we?" I feared it was the answer I thought.

Without turning, Isaac responded tartly. "Minecraft."

I swallowed a lump in my throat, and stood up on shaky legs, then retreated to sit on the edge of the bed. "Am I," I started hesitantly. "I'm dreaming right? This can't be real. It can't be. Is this what lucid dreaming is? Because I wanna wake up!" By the time I finished my small rant, I broke down sobbing. I covered my eyes with blocky hands and cried. I peered up over my hands to see Isaac walking awkwardly toward me, unsure how to comfort me. "How do we get out of here?" I wailed.

Isaac bit his lip and darted over to a wooden block. I heard the sounds of him tinkering away and moments later he turned around with two grey swords. "I think we need to defeat the ender dragon." The teen told me, offering me a sword.

I ignored the weapon and looked up at him. "I don't know what the heck you're talking about! Just get me out of this stupid game." My voice raised dramatically towards the end, which caused Isaac's eyes to widen.

"Shhh!" He urged clutching the sword with a shaking white palm. "There might be mobs nearby."

I stared at him bewildered as he dropped the other blade by my side. "Mobs? What are m-" Then Irma's words came back in a wave of panic. "Monsters?" I felt even more tears rise to the surface as I cautiously grabbed the sword with my hand and scooted up the stone wall of the cave.

Isaac looked nervously out the window, his shaking hands holding the sword anxiously out in front of him. "I came in too early..." He muttered to himself, sounding annoyed. "Should've grabbed some iron.."

His position grew slack as he stood in thought, muttering inaudibly. Then a sudden hissing interrupted him. With a start, Isaac yelped and jumped backward, crawling back with frightened eyes on the window.

"Lauren don't look!" Isaac shouted.

"Isaac? What..?"

"Don't look."

I looked. I still regret it. An odd green figure stood staring into our cave, it stood motionless, soundless, and with gaping black eyes staring right at me.

I stood frozen, blood draining from my face. "What the heck is that?" I breathed shaking.

"A creeper." Isaac picked himself up off the ground, his eyes locked on it.

"Can it get to us in here?" I retreated to a far corner of the cave.

Isaac sighed. "No. Just don't go too close to it or it'll blow up.

"Blow up?" I shrieked hysterically. I ignored whatever his response was and closed my eyes. Breath Lauren. Pull yourself together. I opened my eyes again, feeling somewhat calmed.

Until I saw Isaac charging towards the creeper. "Isaac!" I shrieked gripping the sword awkwardly. I didn't know the kid very well, but no one really deserves to blow up.

But instead of suicide, Isaac slammed his blade into the green monster when he was only feet away. The teen sped backward back towards me as the creeper fell back as well and hissed. Then it came back to its window and waited. Isaac charged it again, and again using the same tactic. Only a couple hits later the foul creature died in a puff of smoke. Isaac walked over to the gap and picked up his prize: a small pile of grey powder.

"Okay then." I returned to my corner and slid down into a sitting position, letting my sword clatter to the ground by my side. "Tell me more about this game."

All through the night Isaac told me about the monsters- er mobs of Minecraft. At first I would have dismissed it as some cruel joke, but after seeing the creeper, later a skeleton, and hearing the moans of mobs throughout the night I opted that I should put some trust in him.

After he took an arrow in the shoulder, Isaac also educated me on the food and healing properties. Then the sky started to get lighter.

"Here." Isaac started to destroy what he called the furnace with a pick axe and handed it to me. I held onto it and soon we took the bed and a several other blocks as well. Then the chest. Isaac started to pour items in my arms while keeping some for himself, mumbling all the while.

"Why are we leaving?" I asked as I received several items I didn't catch the names of.

"Not enough room. We're gonna find a better place to live." At seeing my panicked face Isaac added hastily. "Don't worry, it's day now. Not as many mobs out." I nodded and followed Isaac out into the broad daylight. "We also need some sheep."

Blinking several times my eyes adjusted. Isaac was right. We had stepped out of a small mound barely big enough to accommodate a small extension upward. Surrounding us was a forest. Wordlessly Isaac started walking. Out of the gloom of our cave, I could get a better look at him. His shaggy hair was black and he had fair skin. He looked like he was wearing dark blue jeans and a striped dark and light grey sweatshirt.

When I got bored of staring at his black shoes I looked around us. We had recently left the forest and were traveling through a grassy meadow. I absent-mindedly plucked a red flower from the tall grass and twirled it around in my fingers. We occasionally stopped to munch on some cooked pork chops. I was in the middle of counting the pixels on my flower when I heard Isaac breath. "Thank God."

"Sheep?" I immediately exclaimed as I looked up.

"Civilization." Isaac turned to me and pointed into the horizon. Far up in the distance of the hills I noticed several buildings made of wood and stone. I tucked my flower into my hair and gave a whoop of joy and made a mad dash to the houses, Isaac right on my tail.

By the time I had reached the gravel pathway I was hungry and out of breath. I shoved another piece of meat in my mouth and Isaac did the same.

"Come on!" It was the first time is seen Isaac smile when he grabbed my hand and darted toward the houses. We reached a part in the pathway and Isaac let go of my hand. He stopped, examining the village. "Look for a blacksmith." He told me and walked off in the other direction." I watched as Isaac turned the bend and disappeared behind a wooden house.

I watched him ditch me and then turned around. Blacksmith? I started walking along the gravel path when something moved out of the corner of my eye. I quickly fumbled to grab my sword, rather ungracefully I might add, and spun around.

"Hmmm?"

"What?"

"Hm?"

I slowly took a step backward while keeping my eyes on it. Did, did its nose just wiggle?

"Uh excuse me?" No response. Well it kind of, looked like, a person?

"Can you show me the way to the blacksmith?" It stared at me, then turned and dashed away.

I stood stunned for a moment before chasing after it. "Hey! I'm talking to you! Where's the blacksmith?" The person with the brown smock dashed into a small house, and slammed the door on me.

"Where's the blacksmith!" I yelled and flung open the door. Six more stood crammed into the otherwise empty house. They were all wearing different colors, and were staring at me.

"Hmmm?" They chorused. I punched the nearest one and in turn heard his grunt of pain. Satisfied, I slammed the door in my wake and hopped off the steps. Was it that dark earlier? The sky had taken a darker blue sheen and now the torches lined on roads illuminated the town.

I stepped over to a well and peered anxiously into it. Seeing my reflection made me crumple and fall into a sitting position. The initial shock had been blown away in our entry, but now reality was like a slap in the face. I felt tears coming to my eyes and I hastily wiped them away. Despite everything being made of blocks, I had strangely grown accustomed to the feeling of it all. I needed to find Isaac.

The first zombie groaned as it made its way to a door. "Isaac!" I screamed. There were tons of zombies, all pushing over each to reach the thin wooden door that protected the weird people in the homes. You think a bunch of pixels isn't that bad? Think again. Bile rose in my throat at seeing the grotesque faces twitch and groan. I turned and vomited beside a patch of grass next to one of the homes.

Nauseated, I sped down the gravel path looking for any sign of him. I paused at a large garden on the outskirts with a stitch in my side and the taste of vomit in my mouth. How could there be so many? I grabbed my stone sword and held it straight out from my body and spun in a small circle.

Nothing but a creeper got close to attacking me. The green thing slowly turned it head after seeing me. It's light tread was almost undetectable. I didn't move, rooted to the spot. Let the battle come to me. Well, when bring frozen in fear you don't have much of a choice.

The creeper slowly ambled right within my reach, I struck out with my sword. It flared a bright white and gave a satisfying hiss of pain. I breathed a bit easier as it charged me one a again. These creatures were so stupid. But as the creeper neared me again, I wasn't fast enough. I tripped backward and tried to crawl away from the monster. But it exploded.

I was flung in the air and landed with a sickening crunch on the gravel just inside the town. My eyes spun with colors and my mind swarmed with pain. It hurt so much. Please don't pass out again, I prayed.

I grabbed my sword from where it had fallen and glanced around in worry. Where did the creeper go? I grudgingly picked myself up from the ground gasping in pain and stared at the gaping crater in panic. Where did that nasty green thing go? When it exploded, do they just, die? Suicidal much?

Still feeling unsettled and with a throbbing headache I dashed away from the meadows of mobs and peered into an empty house near me. It was abandoned with no door attached to the hinge. I cautiously climbed up the ladder in the back, which brought me to a roof. Surprisingly enough, the pain was already subsiding. From my lookout point I could see the whole town. Armies of the undead crowded the doorways, groaning as they fought to reach their targets.

I peered hesitantly out the door, but the mobs took no notice of me. They had their undead hearts set on Isaac. As a zombie began to pass by I slashed at it with my sword, then again, it groaned and turned towards me. I kept it a fair arms length away from me with my sword, until it died. I stood with a mute feeling of accomplishing it. I noticed something that dropped from his body. Unsteadily, I scooped it up. It was a brain. I screamed and flung it out of my hands. No no no. Disgusting. I don't need to throw up again, if there was anything left to heave.

I looked out the gap once again to see Isaac speeding around a corner. I swallowed the dry feeling in my mouth and chased after him calling his name. What the heck am I doing to my life? An arrow that whizzed by my head reminded me to keep moving.

Isaac was weaving between buildings, he looked like he was searching for something. He turned behind a wooden house and didn't reappear. I yelled his name for what must've been the hundredth time that time. My feet carried me to the house he entered. It was larger than most and zombies swarmed the only entrance. A single dirt block was placed in front of the door, creating an effective blockade. Wait- could zombies open doors? That wasn't too reassuring. I stood from a safe distance and watched the zombies, stricken with fear. I stared at Isaac through the pane of glass in the window. He motioned to the read of the building with a beckoning hand gesture.

A loud groan in my ear sped my feet into action after the zombie punched me dutifully in the side. With pain lacing my abdomen I ran around the building just in time to see a second wood block being destroyed. I kept through the gap into safety. Isaac quickly replaced the wood behind me.

"What's going on?" I practically yelled at him as I leaned over to catch my breath. Isaac slunk to the ground heavily,  
>leaning up to a chest for support.<p>

"We shouldn't have come here at night. Zombies can attack the village." Isaac avoided my glare, I could sense his embarrassment. "We should just wait it out."

I nodded, annoyed. "What's in all the chests?" I asked and moved forward to open the one next to Isaac. Isaac's eyes grew wide again, with even more fear. I took a step back. He seemed a bit insane.

Isaac scrambled to get up and he peered through the gaps in the door as the zombies groaned their displeasure. "Whoever came by here, is coming back."

"Hmm?" I sounded like a villager as I furrowed my brow in confusion. In turn, Isaac flung open the nearest chest.

The jewels and precious metals sat gleaming back in my eyes. My mouth dropped open as I caught sight of the polished armor and weaponry. "Oh gosh. Well, can't we just, like, take it?"

Isaac shook his head vigorously. "If they catch us, we die. If they're this geared up we don't even have a chance."

Nodding slowly, I understand. "Can't we take some, uh lesser important stuff?"

Isaac bit him lip, contemplating my proposal. "I guess they won't miss a few iron and some wood." I smiled as Isaac began to sift through the chests nervously, as if the owner would jump out and kill him at any given moment.

After a few minutes, Isaac handed me several items. The first was a sword. The new sword was identical to my old one, besides the color was now a bright white sheen. "Iron." Isaac explained as he handed me what he said was a chest plate. I dutifully put it on, and I found the weight of the metal was oddly comforting.

Isaac bore a helmet of the same material and a matching sword. "Here." Isaac tossed me some steak and I thanked him. Then we both sat down to wait off the night. The groans of the zombies prevented any further relaxation.

What seemed like hours later of awkward small talk, I saw the fire out of the corner of my eye. "Look!" I cried when I caught sight of the flaming zombie. "Daytime!" We both scrambled to our feet and I jumped to the window. I could see the zombies running away from our door, caught on fire. But, it didn't look like daytime. How were they burning? I received my answer when I opened the door to a boy wearing a full set of shining blue armor and a sword aimed to my throat.

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><p><strong>Next Chapter: A couple more familiar faces find themselves in this new, strange world. How will they deal with it, and what will they find?<strong>

**Thank you all so much for reading! Remember to review, follow and favorite.**

**-Kat**


	4. The Grand Illusion

Irma opened her eyes to the most beautiful view she had ever seen. The teen shakily stood up, to see the vast desert around her. She spun in a wide circle, breathing in the world around her. A wide grin broke out on her face as the warm sun breathed on her face. Irma's grin didn't even falter as her eyes couldn't find any trees. She laughed actually, bring on the challenge.

Instead of breaking down, she started walking. Irma hiked up the large sand dune, smiling all the while. Maybe she'd find a temple, or some trees, or a well, or better yet, a village! With a light feeling in her heart Irma set out on a quest in a world made of blocks.

Cacti, dead brush, sand, and more cacti. The initial eagerness and excitement had worn away to reveal a sense of panic. How big was this desert? Hunger quietly gnawed away at Irma's stomach, a steady and merciless reminder that she needed to find life.

The sun was dropping low in the sky, and time was running out. Irma almost missed it as she ran over her options, she could use the sand to build a sandstone hut, surround herself with cacti, or keep walking. She could also- what was that?

As Irma neared the rectangular pattern in the sand her heart quickened with every step. A dungeon! The teen skidded to a stop at the brim of the hole. The way the sand fell it was impossible to tell how many chests there were. Irma gathered several blocks of sand in her arms and jumped into hole, throwing caution to the wind.

She landed softly on the warm sand, as it comforted her fall. Irma walked over to a price of sand in the corner next to several pieces of cobblestone, anticipation blossoming in her heart. She quickly destroyed it and it her heart fell. Just moss covered cobblestone. Irma continued to remove each piece of sand around the border, her hopes plummeting with each piece destroyed. Until her anxious hand uncovered a chest.

Irma let out a sigh of relief and smiled as she flung open the most beautiful block. She stood mouth agape as she spotted its contents. Four prices of redstone, two buckets... Irma was halfway through shifting through her loot when she heard it. The rattle of bones made her heart plummet.

The sky had grown dark enough to accustom the undead. Irma spun around to see the first skeleton. Her blood ran cold and her mind spun. It looked so much worse than she remembered. It wasn't long before more came. Then the first arrow was fired.

Irma heard the snap of the bowstring and instinctively curled into a small ball to make herself a lesser target. The arrow curved wide and sunk deep into the cobblestone below her. As the projectile was imbedded in the stone, it quivered with motion.

With a shriek, Irma abandoned the chest and withdrew her blocks of sand she had brought. The teen jumped, then placed a block beneath her as she towered up, until the second arrow.

It hit her in the leg. Irma yelped as she fell off her sand pillar and smacked onto the ground in a daze. It hurt so much, and she was so hungry... It would be just too easy to give it all up, and succumb to the misery of this all.

But Irma dragged herself back to the tower and threw another block down to create a small staircase. Then once again she created her tower up to the surface until she was one block short. Irma quickly destroyed a sand block to her side and leaped over edge, panting heavily.

As she sat frozen on the edge of the dungeon she couldn't help to smile even as the arrows hurtled in her direction. After her brief moment of victory Irma decided she needed to open the chest again to snag the remaining items.

She backed away from the dungeon and regrouped. There were a heck of a lot of mobs in the desert, but none had bothered her yet. She turned back to peer into the dungeon three- no, four skeletons were happily prancing about in their containment. Irma crouched low to the ground and peered over the edge, if she could just reach.

Another arrow struck her in the shoulder. Irma yelped and flung open the chest and grabbed the enchanted book and wheat that remained. She then picked herself off the ground and ran as arrows rained on the sand around her.

Irma wove skillfully through the masses of mobs inhabiting the desert, only stopping when she was too tired to sprint. She lifted the one of the four pieces of wheat to her mouth and nibbled at the edge of it. Bleh. Definitely not edible until it was made of bread. Curiosity overcame the girl as she eventually backed into a sand dune to examine the loot she had pilfered.

Four pieces of redstone dust, two buckets, four pieces of wheat, a nametag, and an enchanted book. Irma squealed in delight and read the title of the shiny book. Power IV, Sharpness III. It was one heck of an enchantment, but she didn't have an anvil, or even a weapon for that matter. Food was much more important, and just about her number one priority.

Irma sat down and contemplated her options. She could always return to the dungeon and see if here was a second chest hidden under the sand that remained, keep walking and risk getting mauled by mobs, or stay by the dune to wait out the night. She weighed the risks and the rewards and decided to wait out the night. Her body was aching from the skeleton encounter, even though she painstakingly yanked out the arrows. After several minutes of hushed thought and watching the monsters roam through the dry desert air, Irma realized something.

The teen started to combine the blocks of sand she carved out from the mountainside to form a sandstone hut just barely big enough for her to lie down in. There. Home sweet home. Irma sat in her 'house' and began to think clearly since she first opened her eyes.

How did she even get here? Irma closed her eyes and concentrated. The last thing she remembered was going outside for P.E. and playing frisbee. She was with her team and then the frisbee landed in the tree. Then she climbed it? Yes that was right. Then she flung it to Lauren, and did she fall? Irma opened her eyes with a frown as a zombie groaned. Is this all a dream then? Did she hit her head on a branch or something? It was all so strange. Irma forced a smile. Well it was better than getting stuck in Call of Duty or DayZ. Sword Art Online might've been cool though, Skyrim would be downright amazing and terrifying. Minecraft was good.

Now to wait through the night. It would be hard though, with hunger consuming her with every second. Irma slowly closed her eyes, bracing herself against the pain and distress.

"Uh, hello?"

In Irma's mind, she was lying comfortably in her bed, staring at the paper cranes dancing in the wind by the breeze let in by her window. A familiar electro song softly played in the background and the smell of chocolate cookies wafted from the door. She couldn't have anyone invade her peace of mind. She smiled, and waved at her door lazily. "Come back later please."

The pounding got louder, the voice sounding familiar. "Is anyone here?"

They started destroying her door next, her sleek wood door. The only thing shielding her from the outside world. She frowned, beginning feel anger at the stranger who was familiar.

"Go away." Irma moaned she spun around, burying her face under her pillow. How did he get in her apartment?

He destroyed her door. Irma let out a wail of sorrow. That was her door. She shakily sat up as looked at the intruder. A smudge of black looked back at her. He, he was a burglar! A thief! She swung a punch at him.

The man jumped back in alarm. "Oh God." He than squeezed into the small shack and knelt next to the pale girl. Her dark brown hair was stuck to her clammy skin and she was shaking, mumbling incoherent phrases.

He took out several pieces of cooked meat and held them in front of her face, anxiously hoping she was lucid. "Hello? Are you okay?" He asked loudly, for lack of better words.

Irma shrieked. He was waving a pistol in her face. Plain and threatening, the gleaming weapon stared her in the face. "No!" Irma screamed and scrambled away from the gunman.

He hesitated, then shoved the weapon into her face. Before Irma could scream, the gun was shoved in her mouth? She sputtered as the taste of savory meat filled her mouth. As she quickly devoured the food her world shifted to another perspective.

Goodbye bedroom, gunman and dubstep. Irma blinked rapidly to clear her blurry vision. It worked. Now the gunman changed, and her beautiful bedroom was the sandstone shack. No, the gunman hasn't changed. Was Irma still hallucinating? Her suspicions were confirmed when he spoke.

"Uh hello?" Are you okay?" Genuine concern laced his voice as he anxiously peered down on her. The man looked, and sounded familiar. Hello famous YouTuber.

"Y-you're Captain-" Irma flushed red and stopped herself. "You're Jordan."

Jordan gave a crooked grin. "Yeah. You uh, recognize me?" He asked her politely.

"Heck yeah!" Irma sat up abruptly and immediately regretted it. Jordan's face grew blurry and Irma's head felt light.

"You might wanna lie down for a bit." Jordan insisted, with a panic stricken face.

Irma obeyed but couldn't help but ask. "Do you remember me?"

"What?" Confusion filled Jordan's face.

"Remember? At the park?" Jordan shook his head. "I'm Irma! I took a picture with you?"

Jordan nodded, remembering. "Yeah, last Tuesday, right?"

Irma nodded gleefully, beginning to feel better as she quickly consumed another piece of meat. She glanced around the sandstone hut, curiously. "What time is it?" She tried to look out the hole behind Jordan, but he was blocking it.

Jordan turned around, letting in sunlight. "Um, I'd say about midday." Irma nodded. As Jordan opened his mouth to speak, a shadow flickered past his outside. Irma blinked several times. Was that a person who just ran by? Irma dismissed it as a fading illusion.

Jordan didn't notice Irma staring out the entrance. "I spawned in a small forest surrounded by ocean on one side and this dessert on the other. I opted for the desert. Swimming for who knows how long wouldn't be pleasant. What about you?"

Irma nodded along and waited for him to continue. He didn't. "Oh!" She said realizing he was waiting for her to speak. "I spawned here in the desert. Well not here here, but out there here." Irma waved her hand towards outside for emphasis. "I found a dungeon, got some non-edible loot, and got shot at several times. But I'm good!" Irma nodded with a grin, causing her glasses to slip down her nose.

"That's good." Jordan commented. Irma nodded again. "So what do you think we have to do? What's the end game here? Killing the ender dragon?"

Irma regarded Jordan with a befuddled look. "What are you talking about? What do you mean end game?" She leaned up against the wall of her hut and crossed her arms.

"Er. You uh, play minecraft right?" Jordan prompted.

"Dolphinately!"

"W-what?"

"Dolphin plus definitely equals dolphinately!" Irma proclaimed with a smile full of braces.

"What? Ok never mind." Jordan dismissed the idea and continued. "Well you know then, you kill the dragon and you technically win the game? Then maybe we can leave and go home?"

For once in her life, Irma looked outwardly anger. "Leave?" She exploded and Jordan jumped in surprise. "Leave?" She repeated louder and stood up balling her hands into fists.

"Irma it was just a suggestion I'm-"

A look of peace and tranquility came over Irma's face. "This is home." She beamed at Jordan. "We've always been here, right?"

Jordan contemplated the thought before nodding with agreement slowly with glassy eyes. "Yeah Irma. You're right. We've always been here. Why would we want to leave?"

"This place is home." Irma agreed with a dreamy look. The two of them nodded in sync, oblivious to the coming night, and the mysterious character standing in the doorway.

He was wearing fairly normal attire, and looked almost natural. But despite his appearance there was something very wrong about him.

Irma, with a senseless grin on her face casually looked up, and met his eyes. Instantly she broke out of her stupor and blinked. He was gone. She shook her head forcefully before looking back at the open doorway. She could swear- no swearing was bad. She could guarantee that someone was standing there.

Jordan followed her gaze. "What?" he looked through the gap, then back at Irma.

"Nothing." Irma replied attempting to brush the vision off. It was probably just another hallucination. Just tricks. There was nothing there. No glowing eyed man. No footprints in the sand, no noise, no proof. Then why couldn't Irma shake off the feeling that Herobrine was at her doorstep?

"Um, what were we just talking about?" Jordan's puzzled words cut into Irma's thoughts.

"Huh?" Irma turned back to him. "I, uh don't know. Something about leaving?"

Jordan stood up and brushed grains of sand off his clothing. "That sounds about right. We should probably leave the desert and gather some supplies."

Irma stood up and followed his lead, stretching her legs. "Its night, but hopefully we can just dodge the mobs." She inwardly prayed it was easier than it sounded.

Jordan nodded in agreement and exited the small hut. Before heading out into the desert, he turned and handed Irma a stone sword. The teen gratefully took it and followed Jordan around the outskirts of a sand dune, with white knuckles. Point and right click. Point and right click. It was easy, right? Just a few ah, swings and something would die, right? Irma shuffled closer to Jordan and prayed to dear Notch she wouldn't have to use the weapon.

Their night passed quite uneventfully. The two of them were usually quick and able enough to bash any monster to death they passed, though both were quite hesitant at first. Jordan only got poisoned once and Irma shot three times. Besides that, they were only minor punches from zombies they didn't see approach.

Soon the sky began to lighten and the two watched mobs smolder from afar. They followed the narrow river nestled between sand dunes until it ultimately led to a savannah biome.

''Trees!" Irma cried happily and ran forward to hug an acacia tree. Jordan followed with a faint smile on his face. Irma was already punching the tree to the point of destruction. Irma paused and turned around to face Jordan, with her hands poised to punch another block. "Should we go caving?"

Jordan nodded. "Yeah. Going at night would've been better, but we should probably go."

They collected several more blocks of wood before scanning the brown, grassy ground for any promising cave entrances. More than once the pair excitedly ran into caves with hope, only to find a dead end. After Jordan mumbling something about being the 'king of dead ends', Irma managed to find a spacious cave that plummeted down into several directions, one with visible lava.

"Woo hoo!" Irma hopped up and down with joy, clapping wildly with her hair bouncing all over the place. She snagged a piece of long grass from the savannah and tied her hair in a loose ponytail. It wasn't very effective. "I see some iron!"

The two carefully skirted the outside of a large drop to grab some iron in the wall on the other side. 'Five pieces." Jordan counted as he finished mining. He set a torch on the wall and sheathed his pickaxe.

They decided Irma would mine the ores, while Jordan kept any curious monsters away. "Do you think this is hardcore?" Irma casually asked as she collected coal.

Jordan looked surprised. "I haven't really thought about that." He anxiously peered into the darkness of the tunnel and set another torch down. "I hope we never find out."

Their mining expedition had gone quite well, until the creeper fell from the sky. With not so much as a hiss, the monster fell from a tunnel above and on top of Jordan. With a yelp, he swung at it with a stone sword, but it only angered the beast.

As Irma spun around, she caught sight of it and screamed. The mob ignored the cry, and simply exploded. The low ceiling was blown and immediately gravel fell to separate the torches were immediately blown to pieces leaving Irma cast into total darkness as she was stuck in the unexplored region of the cave. Jordan was lucky enough to be in the previously explored path they had come down, and had the comfort of the dull sheen of the torches farther down.

"Irma?" Jordan scrambled to his feet and called. He tossed a torch down on the ground and saw the gravel blocking the two. With his fists he began to clear it away. "Are you okay?"

"Jordan?"

Jordan paused his digging when he heard Irma's voice. "What?"

"I think I found something." Irma's voice was muffled but clearly full of confusion. "There's, there's something in here."

Jordan contemplated the only plausible explanations. "Is it a mineshaft?" He called back.

This time Irma's voice rang out, strong and clear. "No. Mineshafts don't have command blocks."

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter: Lauren and Isaac meet someone new, a friend or foe? Can they trust him? Then some more unexpected visitors prove to cause disaster and distress.<strong>

**Thank you all so much for reading! Also a big thank you to those who have favorite, followed, and left reviews. You are the ones I write for. :)**

**-Kat**


	5. Smooth Criminal

"What the hell are you doing in my house?"

Have you ever had a sword mere centimeters from your throat? I can assure you, it is not pleasant. I let my newly crafted iron sword clatter to the ground.

By the sharp intake of breath behind me and another sword dropping I assumed Isaac was following my lead.

For a moment I stared at the wielder of the blade. His face was narrowly built with a thin nose and cold, dark, brown eyes. The sword he was holding wavered for a moment as he strained to hold it. Zombie flesh and brains littered the ground around him along with shiny orbs. The luminescent orbs flew onto him and disappeared with such speed I wondered if I was imagining it.

He motioned his head towards the interior of the house and I slowly stepped backward to avoid his advancing blade. Then promptly, I tripped over my sword.

I winced as my body smacked onto the hard wood. Our attacker quickly kicked my sword away into the far corner without lowering his own.

"Um. I-I we u-uh." I stumbled over my words while keeping both eyes trained on the point. I'm positive I looked like a cross-eyed freak.

Thankfully, Isaac swooped in to save me. "We needed a place to stay for the night. We came across this place and I was searching for a blacksmith." Even Isaac seemed uncertain about the stranger.

"Noobs." The boy grunted under his breath as he lowered his sword. I found I could breath regularly again.

He sheathed his sword, pushed by Isaac, then opened the large chest. As he examined the contents with a furrowed brow I realized our mistake.

Should we run? I mouthed to Isaac. He met my eyes with a confused expression. I mouthed my message to him again slower and imitated running in place lightly. He shook his head fearfully and pointed to the boy's shining armor.

Grudgingly I nodded. Our captor looked into his chest, then turned back to stare at us. I scrambled to my feet. "Did you rob me?" He asked with a hardened voice.

Isaac sent me a dirty glare. "Um we only took-"

"Whatever." The boy interrupted and rolled his eyes dramatically. He turned his back to Isaac but I still had a good view of what he was doing. He pulled out several odd green orbs and tossed them into the chest. They looked like, oh gosh they looked like eyeballs.

"What are those?" I blurted out in disgust.

"Ender pearls." He said with looking at me.

"What so they do?"

"Do you even play the game?" He asked me with genuine curiosity as he turned to look at me.

Isaac nodded even though our captor couldn't even see him. "I do. She doesn't." The boy nodded thoughtfully. He better not kill me because I don't know anything. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him.

He didn't react. "When ender pearls are crafted with blaze powder they create eyes of ender, which when thrown lead you to a stronghold." He impatiently explained. I opened my mouth to ask what strongholds did but he sighed, interrupting me. "Strongholds have a portal that leads to end, where the ender dragon lives."

"We're going to defeat the ender dragon too!" I mindlessly chirped. Oops. Isaac looked like he was going to strangle me and run me through with a sword himself.

The boy's eyebrows raised and he looked mildly impressed. "Really?" He contemplated the thought for a moment, trying to pick his words well. "Did he, um, tell you to?"

For a moment the boy looked so hopeful I actually felt guilty when Isaac spoke. "What are you talking about? Who?"

"Never mind." His face hardened again to show little emotion.

"What's your name?" I finally got the nerve to ask him.

"Me?" He pointed to himself. "Roy."

"I'm Lauren and this is Isaac." Isaac nodded when I acknowledged his name. There. Now we were on friendlier terms. Kind of. Hey, first name basis, right? "So." I started. Both boys looked at me. "Can we like, go defeat the ender dragon with you?"

I might as well have asked him if he wanted to go to prom with me. "Sorry Lauren," He spat my name. "But I have to do this myself." Roy didn't look too pleased with having to say that, nor convinced.

"Come on." I attempted to sway Roy's choice. "You could use help, couldn't you?" I urged him. With all his beefy stuff, we'd whoop the dragon's butt.

Roy considered it, then finally broke. Quite easily I'd say. "'You slow me down, I kill you."

I frowned. "Fair enough." Isaac said. I couldn't tell if he was serious or not. Isaac seemed suspicious of Roy, and I couldn't blame him. He sure didn't need much convincing to let us join.

Roy ignored his remark and glanced past my shoulder, looking out the window. "You two can sleep or whatever. I'll take first watch.'

"First watch?" I echoed in horror. "Will things like attack us?" Roy took no notice of my comment. "Can some monsters, like, bust through the wall or something?"

Roy dismissed my remark idly. ''Calm down, we're fine."

Still not satisfied, I sat down where Isaac had set up the two beds side-by-side. 'Are you joking?" Isaac looked at me in confusion. "Uh, no." I quickly hacked down the bed with surprising ease and placed it down in the opposite corner, wedged between a tic-tac-toe table and the wall. Isaac rolled his eyes from several feet- erm, several blocks away. I shot him one of my signature glares and laid down on the bed's lumpy surface.

Roy was leaning up against one of the many chests in the room, absently staring at his reflection in his gleaming sword. Yeah, he was certainly keeping watch.

I couldn't find sleep as easily as I had hoped. Isaac wasn't helping as he kept turning around in his own bed. For once my adrenaline rush was over, and my mind could process thoughts rationally. Why were we defeating the ender dragon anyway? What did that accomplish? Was that supposed to do something?

I focused on that question for several minutes before finding the simple answer: to escape this stupid game. Why was it so easy to forget this was all a game? It felt almost natural, though the experience was certainly new. Pondering on my conclusion, I fell into a restless slumber. That is, until I heard the explosions.

I then woke up to Roy's colorful string of curses. The teen was gripping his sword tightly with both hands and staring out the window at the blazes of light. Isaac was already out of bed and picking his blade up as well

"What's going on?" I wailed as another defeating explosion went off. This time, it sounded closer. The ground was shaking and I could faintly hear hissing.

"Hurry and grab stuff!" I had to concentrate on Roy's lips to comprehend the message. Roy looked in a panic as he flung open a chest and starting grabbing bars of gold. I followed his lead and stocked up on wooden planks. "The valuables idiot!" Roy screamed in rage and yanked on my poor ponytail over to the gems.

"Ow ow ow!" I screeched swatting his hand away from my delicate hair. But I hoarded all the shiny things, and I really didn't know what any of them were. Finally I was weighed down so much I couldn't carry anything else. I looked to Roy for more instruction. He was already heading out the door, Isaac in tow. It looked like Isaac was yelling something, but I couldn't hear him over the explosions.

I covered my ears and chased them out the door. Too late I realized I had forgotten my new sword by my bedside. Hopefully the junk I grabbed from the chests compensated the loss of it. Hopefully Roy gave me a new shiny one.

The scene outside was catastrophic. Gaping craters made up the ground and almost no houses were still intact. Blocks were flying every direction and I narrowly missed being smashed into a wall by a flying cobblestone block. I stumbled along, leaping over blocks in a desperate attempt to follow Isaac and Roy.

What was even going on? In blind confusion I kept running. I swear at some point I heard someone cackling maniacally. I had no idea how long I had been running, the whole event passed in a blur.

The explosives hurt my eyes, and I kept seeing the red block inscribed with 'TNT' on the side flare up and blow. Finally we reached the forest line and looked back into the meadow. The whole village was leveled, except Roy's house. Gaping holes in the earth surrounded it, but it lay mostly untouched, save for one wall that was missing several blocks. The last explosive blew and silence reined the valley, except for Roy's uncontrollable swearing. The blasts were still ringing in my ears and my eyes were strained from the colors.

He paused for a moment and looked at his house, fire blazing in his eyes. Two figures were standing on the roof, waving their arms and cheering. One's laugh carried over through the silent valley. "Yeah Clement!" He cheered with a heavy accent that could've been British. Then the pair disappeared over the side of the roof and it looked like they entered the house.

"Arragh!" Roy yelled and chucked his sword in anguish. The shining blade embedded itself in a nearby birch tree. Isaac was clearly upset as well. But I was still confused. I glanced to Isaac but his eyes were trained on the destroyed village.

By Roy's outward rage I assumed now would not be a good time to ask him what just happened. He yanked his sword from the tree and starting walking deeper in forest. I looked to Isaac and he shrugged, following Roy.

We lagged behind Roy and after several minutes I could resist it anymore. "Who were they?" I whispered to Isaac.

Maybe I was a bit too loud. "Griefers." Roy told me as he continued to walk.

Well thanks. That cleared up a lot. "What are griefers?"

"People who destroy things for fun."

"Oh." I thought about his words. "But weren't they stealing some of your-"

"Shut up!" Roy roared. I obeyed without question.

We all walked in an awkward silence until we reached a small clearing in the forest. "This is a good place to set up camp for the night." Roy told us as he set down several chests.

Isaac started placing torches around and soon we had a small, but illuminated clearing.

"Where are we going now?" I dared to ask him.

"Not now princess."

"Princess? I-"

"Get your girlfriend to shut up already." Roy barked.

Before Isaac could say anything. I spoke. "I'm not his g-"

"Shut up!" I have to admit, Roy looked pretty darn frustrated. I have a feeling I wasn't helping. "Put all the stuff you got in the chests." Roy yanked off his helmet and tossed it carelessly on the ground. I got a look at his face and hair now, without the helmet obstructing my view. Gosh, I can't believe I'm saying this but Roy is hot. Even sweaty, his blond hair is perfectly tousled, his brown eyes full of depth and mystery, and they were staring at me. Blushing I looked away and stumbled over to chest to put my items away. Kristi was so going to be jealous when I get out of this stupid game.

"Way to go." Roy spat at me after I started tossing various items I had grabbed into the chest.

Confused, I stopped with a piece of iron ore in my hand and looked up at him. "What?"

"Of course you don't wear the armor you grabbed. No, it needs to take up inventory space. And obviously wooden planks are more important than diamonds." His voice was dripping with sarcasm and annoyance was written all over his face.

"S-sorry." I apologized guiltily feeling remorse for my actions for possibly the first time.. But he was right. I did neglect the diamonds and grab raw chicken instead. But it's not my fault I don't spend my life at a gaming console. Unlike some, I have a life.

Roy ignored me per usual and Isaac still didn't say anything. When all of us emptied out our inventories, Roy was still not pleased. I felt that it wasn't a good time to bring up I had lost my sword.

"How many ender pearls do you have?" Isaac suddenly asked.

Roy peered into the chest. "Four." He frowned at the number. "I think maybe twenty would be good."

Isaac nodded in agreement. "Do you have any blaze rods yet?"

Roy shook his head. "Nah. I haven't even gone to the Nether yet." He laid down on the grass, folding his heads under his head in a relaxed position. I followed his lead and sat on top of a chest. Only Isaac remained standing.

"I have almost twenty-six levels, so hopefully when I kill some blazes I can get to thirty, enchant another sword, pray I get looting, and double ender pearl drops along the way." Roy told Isaac. Everything he said went whoosh! Right over my head.

Isaac looked bewildered. "How do you know how many levels you have?"

"How many levels do you have?"

As soon as he spoke Isaac looked surprised. "Three. That's weird. So you just know and-"

"Hold that thought." Roy interrupted and jumped up, grabbing his sword. "Dibs."

"What-" Confused, I watched Roy dive into the trees and then I caught sight of something aflame and heard a groan.

Roy returned and flashed a triumphant smile. "Twenty-six." He jumped back down on the ground, and tossed a price of rotten flesh into the shadows.

I thought about how many levels I had, whatever that meant, and I just felt the thought of one. One level. That's cool I guess.

"So what do we do now?" I asked Roy as I absentmindedly straightened the creases out of my jeans.

"Now," he told me. "Now we go into the Nether."

"The Nether?" I repeated in annoyance as I waited for somebody to explain. The downside of not being a nerd is I just don't get any references to anything. I bit my lip and glanced to Roy, expecting another explanation.

From the opposite side of the clearing Roy met my eyes. "We're in the Overworld now. Think of it as earth. Now think of Heaven, that's kind of the equivalent of the End." Roy looked at me, waiting for me to confirm I was understanding.

With Isaac's and Roy's eyes bearing down on me, I slowly made the connection. My eyes grew wide and I choked up. "Wait wait wait. So that means-"

"Yeah." Roy interrupted rudely. Gosh, he's semi-cute but he's still obnoxious. "You're going to Hell princess."

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter: Roy's tolerance for Lauren's obnoxious behavior drops dangerously low. Tensions are high as as the three go deep into the cave systems of Minecraft to search for diamonds and create a nether portal.<strong>

**Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you all like the story so far. I'm still working on an appropriate length for the story to be, but expect another chapter every Tuesday for now! Remember to review, follow, and favorite!  
><strong>

**-Kat**


	6. Highway to Hell

"W-what?" I squeaked. Hell? Are there like, dead people there? And the Devil? Am I going to see my goldfish Swimmy? I started shaking and picturing the worst. I lost what Roy said next.

"Lauren?" I jumped when Isaac's hand lightly tapped my shoulder. I looked up to see his concerned face staring over me. Shrugging his hand off I ignored him. "Lauren? Of course, the Nether isn't identical to, to that place."

"Can't I stay behind?" I pleaded Roy.

His bit his lip. "As much as I'd love to leave you behind, who knows when we'll be back and I've got a feeling your boyfriend here wouldn't like that-"

"He's not my boyfriend And, and I'm not going to the Nether!" I shrieked in protest.

"Whatever." Roy waved it away and stood up as if he had already won the battle. "I don't have any obsidian, and," he paused to shoo me off the chest. I jumped off and Roy flung it open. "And we have only eight diamonds."

Roy paused, then his brown eyes widened. "Where is it?" He spoke panic stricken. He yanked open each chest in turn, and searched.

"What?" I asked as I shuffled away from the madman. Isaac looked on with silence.

"My fortune three, unbreaking two, efficiency four pick axe." Roy darted back to the first chest, his movements growing jerky and jittery. "Did you take it?"

I raised both hands in a denying position. "No sir. But way to go. Is is that valuable? Because-"

"Shut up." Roy mumbled halfheartedly, as he was now sifting through the contents of the third chest. "I swear it was right here..."

I prattled on. "Is there somewhere I can take a shower?" I parted a dirty strand of hair from my poor ponytail. It was full of grit, dirt and dust. I NEVER go a day without showering. "Well, since you're gonna be a while looking for your axe. Maybe you should go check back at the house and ask the griefers for it and they-"

"SHUT UP!" I blinked as Roy appeared in front of me. I froze as his warm breath tickled my lips and his eyes were inches from mine. And not in the romantic way. "I am sick and tired of you going on and on and on about yourself. Can't you see that we're screwed? No matter what I do, he'll kill me. So just shut up and suck it up." He threateningly waved his sword as he spoke, the diamond glinted threateningly in the soft moonlight. "And you!" Roy turned and pointed his sword straight at Isaac. Isaac didn't flinch, but warily watched the blade. "You are not helping!"Roy let out a string of curses before stalking into the forest.

I watched him go, feeling my guilty heart weigh me down. I felt tears gather in my eyes and I tried to swallow the lump in my throat.

"Hey." Isaac stepped over to me awkwardly and directed me to sit on a chest. I collapsed on one of the bigger ones. Then I broke down.

"Why does he hate me so much?" I sobbed into my hands. "I-I didn't do anything a-and I don't know w-w-what's going on and my mascaras running." My tears were flowing freely now, drops staining the grass with my sadness. I'm going to admit, I'm an ugly crier. Soon I was hiccupping and my nose was running horribly.

Isaac stood awkwardly beside me. "Hey." I ignored him once again."Hey. Look at me." I didn't trust myself to speak. Instead I slowly lifted me head up to meet his eyes and hiccupped. "Roy was overreacting. I don't know what's up with him, but I wouldn't trust him completely. He's not telling us everything. And anyway we just need to focus on killing the ender dragon. We'll just stick with Roy for now, his stuff and skill can definitely help us. For now just try to stay on his good side." When Isaac finished his speech, I sat shocked.

"What?" He asked suspiciously as I stared at him in surprise.

"Y-you never really talk that much." I commented. By now my tears had slowed and and rubbed a runny nose on my sleeve, sniffling. "Why?"

Isaac shrugged. "I guess I just don't have much to say."

I nodded, then paused. "But uh, with all honesty Isaac. Is there somewhere I can wash up?" I forced a small smile.

"Um well." Isaac seemed uncomfortable. "Well we don't really know where Roy is and if you go alone-"

"Never mind." I quickly stopped Isaac mid-sentence. "Er. Could we just find a pond or something where I can just rinse some dirt off?"

Isaac agreed. But before we left, he started rummaging through the chests. "What are you looking for?" I impatiently asked him. Isaac didn't respond, his face contorted in concentration. Finally after a moment he pulled out several cracked and dirtied prices of armor.

"I am not wearing those." I wrinkled my nose and shied away. Isaac held a pair of pants and boots out to me, urging me to put them on. "Ugh." I yanked the iron away and put it on. It felt awkward, but my movements weren't as jerky and restricted as I had initially thought. After Isaac tried to hand me a helmet I ran over across the clearing and picked up Roy's discarded helmet. With a triumphant grin, I plopped the shiny hat on my head. Isaac shook his head and put on leggings and a gold helmet. I offered him my boots, but he politely declined.

"How come I have to wear more stuff?" I complained as we walked away from the clearing. I was spinning my newly crafted iron sword in my hands. I wasn't going to loose this sword.

"You're more accident prone." Isaac responded simply as we weaved through the trees.

I rolled my eyes and then followed Isaac hesitantly, keeping an eye out for any source of water. There just has to be some place to wash up. Then after a few minutes we found a small pond, and a giant spider.

Remember how I told you that spiders kind of, uh bother me a tad? Well I screamed. Apparently it was pretty loud I guess by the way Isaac jumped. The spider hissed or whatever sound it made and stared at me. Imagine a fat, hairy spider standing a foot away from you, and it rose well above your knees. Yeah you'd scream too.

I stood frozen with fear, why wasn't it attacking me? If it did, I'd be no good. Trembling I watched it, then it turned and scurried away. What? I looked at Isaac in panic hoping for an explanation.

He enlightened me with some. "They don't attack during the day." He explained as the spider scurried away into the shadows of the trees. I let out the breath I realized I was holding.

"Make sure nothing comes even close to here!" I pointed to Isaac. I turned to the pond and collapsed on the water's edge. I removed Roy's diamond helmet and lovingly set it on the grass behind me. Soon I started shedding my armor and tossing it on the grass. It felt so much better to be able to breath. A hiss sounded from where Isaac was. I turned in fear, but he had the mob under control. He ran towards it, smashed it with his sword, and repeated the act. Oh. So that's how you do it. Just like when there was one at our cave entrance.

Isaac caught me staring at him and beckoned for me to hurry cleaning up. There wasn't much to do but dip each limb in the icy water and scrub the dirt off. I scratched at my arms putting up with the icy temperature with gritted teeth. The trees above blocked any sunlight from directly warming up the pool.

Next there was the hair problem. I painstakingly yanked my hair tie out, losing dear clumps of hair in the process. My hair was a mess of tangled snarls. The best I could do was comb through it, working my way from the bottom up. I dipped my hands in the water and splattered some on my hair. Good enough. I never say that, but there's not much I can do. I tied my wet hair in a high pony, trying my best not to be critical of all the bumps in it. I must've redone it twice on the way back to the camp after I made Isaac hold my helmet.

This time I remembered my sword, any my disgusting armor was back on. Isaac wouldn't let me wash that. My arms were bright red, but clean. I wondered how many layers of skin I took off.

When we through to where the camp was I realized two things; Roy was back, and I was still wearing Roy's helmet. Roy was lazily leaning up against a furnace, his critical eyes running over us. His eyes rested on his helmet I was wearing. He didn't say anything, not even asking where we had gone. I figured it best to not say didn't look any more ticked off than when he was last here, but I didn't want him to snap again.

"We're going mining." Roy announced. Neither Isaac nor I argued. At Roy's command we took what we needed and buried the chests under a piece of cobblestone if we needed to return and find them again. Then we set off through the forest to find a cave system.

Roy easily took care of any monsters we met with his overkill sword. As we searched for a cave,Roy alerted us of his game plan. "We're gonna get some obsidian, hopefully find some diamonds, then I'll head through the portal to the Nether to make sure everything's okay, then I'll come back." As if reading my mind he continued. "Seniority rules."

"I'm not arguing, but how old are you?" The question was harmless enough.

"I'm seventeen." Woah Roy's old. I guess I figured he'd be about that anyway. "What 'bout you princess?"

I didn't object to him calling me it. "Fourteen."

"Fifteen." Isaac threw in.

Our chitchat about age wore away a bit of the awkward tension. We walked in an almost comfortable silence as we crossed into what Isaac told me was a taiga hills biome. I spotted several blocks of orange, and when I pointed them out to Roy he told me they were pumpkins. We took a detour in order for Roy to grab several. Why? I don't know. I guess I'm the freeloader this round of life, I don't know what the heck I'm doing.

It was maybe midevening when we found a suitable cave. Do you have any idea how disappointing it is to think you found a good cave, only to fooled by a dead end? My legs were getting hideously tired as well. I must look like crap too. By the time we had found our tenth dead end, my calves and thighs were burning furiously. I was too afraid to announce my need for a rest.

By the time Roy found us a cave that seemed promising, I was breathing heavily, and I wasn't alone. Isaac looked exhausted. He usually pale face was flushed red and he looked worse for wear. "Can we take a break for a minute?" I politely called to Roy.

He glanced back at us, and grudgingly agreed. "Fine. Only a couple minutes." Isaac flashed me a grateful look and we both collapsed on ground. Roy tossed a torch down on the ground and the flickering light was even more eerie than a dark cave.

"What elevation are diamonds at again?" Isaac asked a minute into our break. It seemed like the question was harmless enough, but Roy didn't think so.

"What elevation?" Roy repeated with a scoff, he looked at Isaac with slight confusion. "I thought you said you played?"

Isaac hastily tried to correct his error. "Well I do, but mostly in creative and peaceful. I-"

"Peaceful? Wuss." Roy spat with disgust. "Sorry bud, but there are monsters hiding in the dark." Isaac started to protest but Roy held up his hand. "Come on, let's keep going."

I'd never seen Isaac clearly upset until that conversation with Roy. Now his face was flushed with fatigue and anger.

Was playing on peaceful something you shouldn't do? Isaac didn't look in the mood to explain. Our descent deeper into the cave turned very awkward but at least Isaac had cooled down. He still seemed annoyed by Roy's words.

We turned the cave corner to see almost a waterfall of water running down the declining stone. The water all flowed from a single gap in the wall. Roy took out a bucket and stretched to scoop the water from the gap. As soon as the source was removed, all the water stopped flowing and it dried up into the ground. It's hard to explain. I guess it looked like you were turning a hose or faucet off with slow mo.

With his bucket Roy continued to lead us deeper. Soon we were all standing in front of a giant chasm. Thankfully, I'm not too afraid of heights. The drop was just long enough to be nauseating. Then Roy dumped the water down. It flowed directly down and when it touched the bottom it fanned out and flowed Along the ground. Next, Roy tossed his bucket to Isaac and jumped into the water.

I made this sort of strangled choking noise as I watched Roy's blond head disappear over the ledge. Isaac and I both darted over to watch Roy. Instead of falling to his certain demise, he was riding the water down. It seemed impossible, but he was slowly sinking down to the bottom by standing in the waterfall of water. Well that defied physics.

"Come on princess!" Roy yelled from the bottom. I stood in shock while staring down the impossible stream of water.

"Yeah right!" I yelled back. "I can wait up here."

"Push her!" Roy yelled to Isaac. I'm sure Isaac heard, but he didn't acknowledge the fact. Isaac didn't move, but urged me on with his eyes.

I was about to protest when I saw the movement over Isaac's left shoulder. It blended in with the cave's dark walls and I would've missed it if not for the purple particles emitting from it. Then it turned to stare at me.

It's deep purple eyes were hypnotizing, an endless void distracting me from its lanky black frame. I couldn't tear my eyes away from it. Roy and Isaac might've been saying something, I don't know. I couldn't hear them over the roaring in my head. I couldn't think, and I blinked.

I heard another weird sound and I opened my eyes. It was angry, the purple eyes monster. My eyes widened as I realized what it was. An enderman. My mind reeled back to the night in the cave where Isaac had told me to whatever I do, not look at them. But my realization came too late. Then I felt a splitting pain, and I was free falling. Until I hit the water. As soon as I was dunked into the icy stream I realized what was happening. Roy was screaming as I slowly descended down the waterfall. My lungs were about to burst and I broke my head through the pressure of the stream to breath. My senses sharpened and I saw flashes of black teleporting around.

I was so disoriented. My feet hit solid ground and I realized I had reached the bottom. Weren't the things weak to water or something? Roy was fuming as the black creature appeared beside me in the water and it screamed in pain. Bingo. I backed up, pushing against the current and swatted at it with my sword. Avoiding my blow, the monster teleported next to Roy, and he furiously beat at it with his blade while looking at its feet. The thing shrieked and appeared behind him.

Roy looked confused, searching for it before Isaac yelled. "Behind you!" Roy spun slashing and hit it before he had even seen it entirely. I looked up to see Isaac riding the waterfall down, as the water disappeared behind him. Isaac was holding a full bucket of water.

The monster collapsed on the ground in pain a disappeared in a burst of pixels. As the mob died, it dropped one of the eyes I had seen Roy had been putting in a chest.

I was too afraid to meet Roy's eyes, so I didn't. I heard Isaac walk up behind us then hand Roy the water bucket. I looked up at Roy, and I instantly regretted that action.

I didn't see Roy until he shoved me to the ground. I landed with a splat in the retreating water. Having a 6'0 seventeen year angry boy with a sword standing above you is traumatizing, but he took a moment before speaking. "One more screw up, and I will _not_ hesitate to kill you." Throwing me a filthy look, Roy turned and walked away. By then the water had seeped into the stone floor, along with any happiness I had.

Isaac offered me a hand up, but ignored him. I grudgingly picked myself up from the ground, soaping wet and with tears in my eyes. "I don't know anything." I sobbed as I walked after Isaac and Roy.

If either of them heard me, they didn't say anything. Isaac looked at me with concern, but I ignored him and walked on. I didn't know what I was doing right now, or why I was doing it, but I can't help the fact I don't know anything.

I crossed my arms over my chest and shivered. I sent a venomous glare towards Isaac and Roy, but neither were looking at me.

"We're probably around y equals 20. Near diamond territory." Roy informed us, walking stiffly. Isaac nodded and took out an iron pick axe. I didn't get one.

"Take these." Roy started dumping random objects in my hand. I stowed them away and Roy motioned for Isaac to hand me his worthless stuff as well.

"What am I, a pack mule?" I couldn't help myself as I started to get weighed down with blocks.

Roy avoided my eyes. "Until you're worth something, yeah." Isaac kept sending me pitying looks. I wanted to slug him.

Without much trouble Roy found a pool of lava. Standing even remotely close to it was sweltering. I stood in the shadows of the cave where the lava's illumination didn't reach me. I watched with interest as Roy poured water from his bucket all over the burning substance.

As soon as the cold liquid touched the patch of lava, it transformed to a hard, purple and black rock. Was that really obsidian? Muttering curses, Roy grudgingly crafted a new pickaxe. Then we spent about an hour mining out ten pieces of it. Worth it? Apparently to Roy and Isaac.

There was unfortunately a layer of lava underneath the obsidian, and we probably would've collected ten pieces in half an hour if not for it. Isaac almost fell in more than once reaching for the just mined out blocks.

After the tenth block we were all relieved. Roy also stated we needed more diamonds, and ender pearls. One again, I was reduced to pack mule duty. I still didn't complain.

The boys led the way with torches, hopeful for the shiny gem. There was none to be found, but gold was visible.

"Better than nothing." Roy said and hopped off a several block high ledge to retrieve it. When his feet hit the ground, there was a sickening crunch, followed by heavy swearing.

"Roy?" I yelled in terror as he shakily stood up. He couldn't get us home with broken legs. Isaac mined away a staircase and we hurried down. I tossed down a torch and the area lit up.

Roy was fine, but his boots were nonexistent. The sparkling diamonds lay in shards around him. "Stupid four block ledge." Roy muttered and kicked away the shattered boots as they turned to dust. "We better get at least four diamonds."

But we didn't. No diamonds for us. Sixteen gold, thirty-six redstone, forty-one iron, several pounds of coal, and even that lumpy blue stuff that I can't pronounce. Roy was annoyed, to say the least.

"I'm done with this." Roy threw down his pickaxe in disgust and took out the blocks of obsidian. "Screw it, I'm making the portal."

Well, we're in the middle of a cave. Oh well. Roy started setting down the blocks in the necessary formation, building into the wall. The second he lit the portal I was afraid. The menacing purple glow crackled threateningly and it seemed far to supernatural. Isaac seemed set off too, but as always, Roy showed no emotion.

"If I come back, then everything's good. But if not, expect something is seriously messed up and don't go after me." Roy made eye contact with both of us and we nodded obediently. Then he nodded, grabbed his diamond pickaxe from the ground, and hopped into the portal. His image wavered distortedly, before he vanished all together.

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter: Irma and Jordan make a startling discovery that just can't be possible. Next, they hunt for diamonds. But searching for the precious gem causes more danger than they can believe. <strong>

**As always, thank you all so much for reading. Remember that I'll always gratefully take instructive criticism or any other comments for that matter.**

**-Kat**


	7. You May Be Right

"Command block?" Jordan questioned when Irma stated the fact. Irma nodded, forgetting he couldn't see her through the gravel dividing the cave. "One sec."

Using his fists Jordan started to pummel through the gravel the creeper explosion had caused to separate them. After several seconds he broke through to the other side of the cave. Irma was sitting on the cold stone, next to a single torch that cast shadows on the surrounding walls. Her head was turned away from him, her curly hair blocking her expression. She simply pointed to the wall she was facing.

Jordan followed her hand. "Oh." He said simply. The wall was like any other, except with a command block at eye level attempting to look flesh with the stone. The block was too far from the explosion to have been revealed in the blast, so it was assumed that somebody had purposely left it exposed.

The unnatural block left the two of them speechless. "Should we mine it out?" Irma asked Jordan while holding up a pickaxe.

He shook his head. "There might be redstone wiring around it."

"Oh." Irma looked thoughtful. "I hadn't thought about that.

Jordan nodded and threw down several furnaces and a crafting table. "Let's at least smelt some iron to get some good iron armor and tools before we look at it." Jordan distributed the coal and iron evenly to make the most if it and sat in front of them, savoring the warmth and light they provided.

He glanced over his shoulder to find Irma was still facing the command block. "Irma?" She didn't respond. "It's warmer over here if you uh come over here." Jordan finished lamely.

He picked himself up and walked over to the freezing stone next to Irma. Jordan sat down next to her. Her glasses had slid down her nose and she was peering over the tops of the lens with a frown. "You okay?" Jordan hesitantly asked.

Irma finally responded. "Does this mean were not alone?" She wondered aloud. "And how did a command block get here? Creative mode? Hacks?" With each word Irma's voice grew in terror.

Jordan opened his mouth to share his opinion when a spider made its appearance know. He saw Irma jump out of the corner of his eye at the spider's hissing. Jordan took his stone sword out and furiously beat the vile creature to death as it stepped into the lighting. He collected his reward of a piece of string and walked back over to the furnace.

"We should make bows!" Irma chirped happily as she walked up beside Jordan. Out of her stupor, she held her pale hands over the heated furnaces and smiled.

"If we have enough." Jordan countered and began to collect the warm, iron bars from their position in the furnace. He placed the metal on the crafting bench and soon they each had a chest plate, a sword, a pickaxe, and each of them had a one of the buckets Irma got from the dungeon. Irma had pleaded for the single bow they could craft and the seven arrows, so Jordan grudgingly gave them to her.

Wielding her pick axe, Irma cautiously raised it to strike at the stone next to the command block. "Let me do it." Irma froze at Jordan's words. Without argument she backed up stand next to the empty furnaces. Jordan couldn't let the girl get hurt because he was too afraid.

Before he chickened out, Jordan mined out the block. He ran backwards in expectation for a blast, but there was none. Instead, the stone he had mined fell to the ground, revealing a cobblestone block behind it. "What?" Jordan pondered aloud.

He stepped up and mined the block underneath the gap. That made two cobblestone blocks that created a perfect human sized space. Then Jordan mined through the cobblestone.

"What?" It was so out of the ordinary Irma did a double take and was still confused. The room was built entirely of obsidian, and must have been about ten by ten blocks with a ceiling of four blocks high. Torches lit up the room wonderfully. Furnaces, chests, an anvil and a crafting table lined the walls. One corner was completely covered in bookcases, but an enchanting table was vacant. The most daunting of all was the nether portal inlaid in the very center of the room.

Jordan cautiously stepped into the room and Irma walked inside behind him. They slowly walked to the portal, glancing around in awe; it truly was the perfect bunker. Jordan couldn't help but feel intimidated by the crackling portal.

Unsettled, Jordan approached the nearest chest on the right and rifled through the contents, leaving Irma to look at the portal. The purple sheen it emitted was almost an illusion, wavering in the torch light. Irma reached her hand out to touch it, hypnotized. But then Jordan called her name. "Hmm?" Irma jerked her hand away and looked at him

"Look at this book I found." Jordan held up a shining pink book. Then he started to read.

Clement- Don't forget to cover up the command block. He did end up putting it there. Don't use it yet, we don't have enough stuff and its a one way ticket to the city. I just left it there so you could find this place. I went through the portal. I'll leave torches leading which direction I went. Just follow me through and we'll meet up.

Jordan finished reading the message. "It says it's signed by Dale." He handed the book to Irma, who read through it herself.

"Should we go through the portal?" Irma asked as she handed the book back to Jordan.

"Probably not. We're too unprepared. And I'm curious about that command block." He gestured to it, which was embedded behind in the obsidian wall. "So where does it lead?"

"A city?" Irma suggested, referring to the message. Jordan walked over an examined its surface. "There are coordinates!" He exclaimed excitedly after further inspection. "42, 35, -174." Jordan read off.

"Ooh!" Irma squealed excitedly and clapped her hands. "But how did it get there?"

Jordan shrugged, finding no plausible explanation. "Let's just take what we can and find some diamonds, okay?"

Irma agreed and they took what was necessary, like spare torches, burnt out pickaxes, some ores and other various materials. There sadly was only a small amount of food and Irma didn't hesitate to take it all for her and Jordan after her last event with no food. Then the two sealed up the obsidian bunker with cobblestone and ventured deeper into the cave system.

Diamonds were surprisingly difficult to find. When their current cave system resulted in a dead end they set to strip mining. Their mines were about a dozen or so blocks away from each other where screaming could still vaguely be heard.

Irma was humming some melodic song when she found them. "Yes yes yes yes yes! JORDAN!" She screamed clapping with excitement and awe. The pale blue crystal was in front of her, at least two blocks of it were visible.

She heard a muffled response, then the sounds of Jordan mining towards here. "Diamonds?" He yelled, his voice increasing in volume. He broke through second later and peered around the corner at Irma. A wide metal grin met his eyes. Jordan ran up behind her and looked over her shoulder, to be disappointed.

The glittering diamonds were about thirty blocks away, in the middle of a ravine and hanging over lava. Jordan's smile dropped from his face.

"What?" Irma asked, her smile fading. "Oh we can get them!" She assured Jordan. Then Irma started to set cobblestone blocks down to form a path to the diamonds.

"Irma, I don't know about this." Jordan started. But Irma was already ten blocks out, recklessly tossing stone down to claim her prize. Jordan began to follow slowly, placing down cobblestone where he saw it fit to be a railing. "Be careful!" Jordan yelled over the hissing lava. The sweltering heat was excruciating. Soon after only seconds of following Irma he was covered in sweat.

"Oh! Jordan!" Irma turned and yelled with a smile.

"What?" Jordan placed down a cobblestone block as he was crouching and looked up at her with a frown. She was reckless.

"I forgot to tell you, I got a Sharpness III, Power IV book when I found the dungeon in the desert!" She was a mess as well. To prove her point she stowed away her pickaxe and held up a shiny book.

"That's great Irma, just get the diamonds and then we can get out of here." Jordan called back. They have so few levels they probably couldn't have put it on a weapon back on the anvil at the bunker. They didn't have any diamond sword to enchant anyway, at least not yet.

When Jordan looked up to see if Irma had reached the diamonds yet, he realized she had stopped just a few blocks shy of reaching them.

Jordan opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but then he saw the skeleton turn the corner and come into view from the cave it was hiding in. The bony creature was casually walking on top of the ridge that the diamonds were under. It's bones would rattle occasionally as it walked until it was standing almost directly above the diamonds, and spotted Irma. There was nothing she could've done.

The arrow hit Irma square in the right shoulder, knocking her off balance and directly into the boiling magma below. It seemed to all happen in slow motion, Jordan found himself unable to move, until she screamed.

The sound was so anguished and in pain it struck Jordan out of his trance. He leapt in action, grabbing his bucket and dumping water in the center of the pathway. The icy liquid spilled over the edges and all over Irma. Her screech died down into ragged breathing as she weakly pulled herself back onto the path as obsidian formed around her.

The strong currents of the water pushed Jordan back along the path, but he gritted his teeth and pushed against it, with the cool water flowing strong against his ankles. "Irma! Are you okay?" He shouted in a panic. The skeleton was still watching them. There wasn't anything Jordan could do now, Irma had the bow.

He watched as a soaking-wet Irma clambered onto the walkway, and then the skeleton took another shot. This one strayed viciously off target and burnt in the lava with a sizzle. Irma hobbled over to Jordan with the help of the water pushing her. When she reached him he put his arm around her waist and slowly led her back to where Irma's strip mine had broken into the ravine. Jordan prayed they were out of the skeleton's range.

They reached the safe enclave of the strip mine when Irma collapsed on the ground. "I-I'm s-so s-so-sorry." Irma wailed as she buried hr head in her hands. "I sh-should look where I-I'm going."

Jordan forced a smile. "It's okay, as long as you feel better and be more careful next time." Jordan handed Irma one of the pork chops from the bunker and the teen gratefully took it and devoured the meat. Irma didn't speak again. "Can I borrow your bow?" Irma nodded and wordlessly handed it over along with a handful of arrows.

Jordan thanked her and left Irma alone to recuperate. Seven, no only six arrows. Jordan assumed Irma wouldn't be in the mood to explain why one was missing. She didn't seem in the mood to talk. Jordan slowly looked around the corner. Sure enough, the skeleton was still there. It's back was to Jordan, and he could take a clear shot. Jordan slowly inched out to where the water just ran to his shoes. Then crouching, he took the shot.

The arrow sailed towards the skeleton, falling just short of it and hitting the block below it.

Due to his prior knowledge, Jordan knew it would take at least two fully charged arrows to take it out. Only four shots left. The bow was surprisingly difficult to wield, and more so to aim. This time the arrow struck the skeleton's legs. It rattled in pain but couldn't identify Jordan had shot him, he was too far out of range.

The next shot killed him, striking the mob in the hip, and ultimately knocking him into the boiling lava below. It burned with a hiss, and then the diamonds were clear. With a satisfied grin Jordan scanned the area for any more mobs. The lava flooring lit up the ravine wondrously. Only a few zombies and a creeper were visible, but too far away to be any threat.

Jordan continued to inch along the cobblestone, pushing against the restricting current. When he could reach the source block, he stretched to remove the water. Then he continued along the path, placing water down and picking it up again quickly to create a ground of obsidian. Soon he was standing before the diamonds. They were stunning.

The light the lava provided reflected off of them beautifully. Only two blocks were visible but it was the most striking object Jordan had ever seen. It would be a shame to- no. He had to mine them. To defeat the ender dragon they had to be as prepped as possible. Heck, they already had a Nether portal down.

So double checking that there was no possible way for the precious diamonds to fall into the lava, Jordan mined the ore. In total, there were five diamonds. An amazing reward. A beam broke across his face. He quickly walked back to the strip mine.

"Hey Irma! Look I-" Irma was out cold. At first Jordan was alarmed, but he then realized she had fallen asleep. It had been a tough day for the both of them, and his eyelids were starting to drop as well. He scooped up Irma in his arms, and with a feeling of déjà vu he walked down the long strip mine, away from the traumatizing lava pools, the first diamonds, and towards the abandoned obsidian bunker.

Almost ten minutes later they reached the obsidian bunker. Once inside, Jordan covered the hole up and carefully set Irma down against the crafting table. Mumbling incoherently, Irma slept on.

With a frown, Jordan collapsed against a bare obsidian wall. The mysterious cackling of the Nether portal was loud, and frankly it was worrying him. For some reason he felt he should leave the portal standing. The purple matter wavered with flecks dancing off and disintegrating in the air. Jordan felt unease turning his back to it. He started to throw the iron in the furnaces and had began to relax as the ore smelted. They could craft more iron armor, maybe get some levels and diamonds. Then there was the harried task of collecting ender pearls…

Jordan missed the sound, since he was in mid thought about strongholds. The portal cracked especially loud, announcing the arrival of a new player. He made sure his appearance was known. "Where the hell am I?"

Jordan jumped and spun around to see a blond teenager step out of the portal. He was in shining diamond pants and a chest plate. He was wielding a sparkling sword to match and his blue eyes were filed with confusion and anger.

Jordan fumbled to grab his sword where it was leaning against the wall. He spun to face the teenager, preparing for a fight. Thankfully there wasn't one.

The teen hadn't moved from where he stepped out of the portal. He was rooted to the spot with confusion. He spat aggressively at Jordan. "Who the hell are you?"

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter: Isaac and Lauren wait for Roy's return, but he doesn't come back. Praying for his return the two set to searching for diamonds until strangers attack and a battle pursues.<strong>

**Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do writing it. A big thank you to those who have reviewed, favorite, and followed. It really makes a writer's day to know someone enjoys reading their content. :)**

**Happy Holidays to you all as well!**

**-Kat**


	8. Only the Young

We must have waited for hours. It was decided to block off the dark tunnels and stay in the lit up area containing the portal. After several minutes we started to feel nervous. I attempted to start a conversation with Isaac, but he didn't have much to say, like always.

"Do you want to strip mine?" Isaac asked me. He held a small pile of redstone dust, sifting it through his fingers. The powder was a bright red, and if Isaac was right, the redstone was like the equivalent of electricity.

"Ok." I responded, standing up and stretching. "Is there anywhere I can dump some of this stuff?" The random objects Roy had loaded into my arms weighed me down, and I had almost no room for any ores I might find. Isaac nodded and tossed down a chest. Breathing a sigh of relief, I started to fill the wooden box with all the stuff I had carried.

Isaac handed me a couple iron pickaxes and pointed to a direction. "You can go that way. We'll hear if Roy returns." I nodded and started to mine away stone in the direction he had pointed to. "I'll be going this way, call if you need something."

I'll be honest with you, strip mining is boring. Especially if you don't find anything. I trusted Roy's word that we were on the right elevation, or whatever that means. I broke into caves more than once. If I did, I would quickly continue mining and then cover up any areas leading into the cave. I found loads of iron, coal, and a bit of gold. I learned to ignore the redstone after more than a stack accumulated in my inventory.

I jumped when my first pickaxe broke. The shards fell to the ground and turned to dust. Grumbling, I withdrew the second one. As I was about to start mining away with a new pickaxe, I heard the sounds of someone else mining. "Isaac?" I called out tentatively. "Aren't you supposed to be going the other way?" No response came, but the mining stopped.

Quietly, I backed up along the straight tunnel and risked a glance behind me. The long tunnel stretched back farther than I could see, the torches I placed flickering. The mining sound started up again, quiet, then coming closer. It really freaked me out. I started running back to the portal, hoping dearly it wasn't some monster.

Then I saw a block destroyed on the side of my tunnel. Then another. A face peered out of the hole. The voice was clearly feminine. That I could identify, even with her heavy accent. "You're not Dale."

I skidded to a stop, staring at her. She stepped into the tunnel, and I could see her face more clearly. She was gorgeous. She must have been in her mid-twenties. Her straight, dirty blond hair fell just past her shoulder and framed a pretty face with green eyes that blazed with challenge. She stepped closer to me in confusion, she was a couple inches taller than me.

"Who are you?" I asked her throwing courtesy to the wind.

"I'm Freja." She responded as she walked up to me, a diamond pickaxe in her hand. Freja was wearing almost full iron armor, she was only lacking a helmet. "You?"

"Lauren." I told her. "Where are you from?" I couldn't place her accent.

"I'm from Denmark." Freja told me. I opened my mouth to tell her that she spoke good English. But I paused. Did Denmark people speak Denmark-ish? Or whatever it is? I wouldn't know. I assumed as much.

Freja continued. "I went to America as an exchange student for a year in Maine. Yes, I do speak fluent English and Danish." She rolled her eyes at me, as if she'd answered the question thousands of times before.

"Who's Dale?" I couldn't help but ask.

"When I came here I met two boys. Dale and Clement. They helped me and gave me some supplies to get started. There was another girl we found too, but she refused to join us. Angeline, I think her name was."

I nodded, following along, before I made the connection. "Wait wait wait." I held up my hand and frowned. I put the pieces together. "Clement?" I repeated. Freja nodded. "Is, is Dale British?"

Freja confirmed my worst fear with an annoyed nod. "Yeah. Have you met him?"

"Yeah." I replied tartly. "He blew up my friend's house." After I said those words I realized two things; one, I had called Roy my friend, and two; Freja could easily have some of Roy's lost stuff.

Freja smiled. "Blow up?" She repeated with a chuckle. "Sounds just like them."

"Uh yeah." I told her snootily. "Some friends you've got there. Let me take you to my friend. He might be able to help sort things out."

Freja considered it, then nodded. "Whatever. It's not like I have anything better to do. I squeezed past her in the tunnel to lead back to the portal.

As we walked by the portal and towards Isaac's strip mine, I heard Freja's footsteps cease. I turned around to see her staring curiously at the portal. "What's this?" Freja asked without taking her eyes off it.

"A nether portal." I hurriedly explained. Freja must have sensed the urgency in my voice, since she turned and continued to follow me. We moved away from the dreaded portal and into the narrow mine.

As we walked by, I noticed the abundance of holes mined into the walls and the lack of any ore. That must be a good sign.

Finally, I could see Isaac at the end of the tunnel, contently mining away. I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled. "Isaac!"

A second later Isaac's head popped up and turned to face me. "Lauren?" He shouted back. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Isaac started running towards me. As he got closer I could see a smile covering his face.

"Look!" He held up several shiny blue gems. "I found six diamonds!"

"Yes!" I shrieked and pounced on the bright crystals. As I moved towards him, I revealed Freja, who was impatiently standing behind me with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Who's that?" Isaac leapt back, almost dropping the diamonds and throwing me a confused look.

Freja took it as a cue to speak. "I'm Freja. Nice to meet you I suppose."

"Uh hi." Isaac greeted unsteadily. He met my eyes and I read the message.

"Um Freja? Would you mind giving us a moment?" I kindly asked as I started to usher Isaac down the mine and away from the Dane.

"Fine." Freja held her arms up in a defensive surrender. "Since you want to talk about me." She rolled her eyes.

Isaac and I walked until we were just out of earshot of Freja. Isaac stared at me, waiting for an explanation to come. "I met her in the tunnel." I hurriedly started to explain. "She knows the griefers."

Isaac's face fell. "The griefers?" He repeated.

I nodded. "She might have some of Roy's stuff."

Isaac agreed to question Freja and together we walked back to where the woman was waiting.

"Let's go back to the portal room." Isaac prompted Freja forward and we continued along the strip mine in single file.

A couple awkward silence filled minutes later we reached the portal room. As I saw the black obsidian again I couldn't help but hope Roy would come back.

I hopped up on a chest and leaned against at the cold stone wall, and Freja awkwardly half-sat on the furnace a few blocks away. Isaac remained standing in front of us.

"So Freja." Isaac started hesitantly.

"What? Spit it out." Freja took the time waiting to examine her blue painted nails. "It brings out my eyes." She explained and held up her hands for us to see the nails.

"That's uh, nice." Isaac commented. "So Freja." He started again. "Tell us what you've done here." Isaac waved his hand to gesture to their surroundings.

"Why?" Freja crossed her arms and looked defiantly at us. Neither Isaac or I were expecting any sort of opposition from her. Nor did we know how to speak well. Usually Roy would direct us to do whatever.

"Why not?" Isaac asked while I was ready to get on my knees and beg.

Freja sighed and rolled her eyes once again. "I should have you know that I do not have to tell you anything." She edged away from the furnace and glared at Isaac.

"But I suppose I will. I woke up in savannah and killed some cows and collected supplies and then made my way across the savannah to a forest and found two obnoxious boys. Clement and Dale um, took a liking to my help and gave me supplies to live. If they blew up your friends house I wouldn't know." Freja smiled in such a way I could see the lie. She hefted her shining pickaxe out. "This is the supplies they gave me." The Dane gestured to her armor as well.

"Have you played Minecraft before?" I asked her.

"Yeah. A few times with Alex." Freja replied nonchalantly. "He taught me a few things but I didn't really care for the game."

"Alex?" I questioned Freja.

The look Freja gave me would make it seem like it was obvious. "My boyfriend." She paused, then grinned not unpleasantly, showing off perfect pearly white teeth.

I knew Isaac still would probably want our stuff back, but Freja would probably cut her arm off before giving us an ounce of help.

During the moment of silence following Freja's words, Freja's smile grew suspiciously bigger and bigger. Then I found out why.

The smooth stone wall shattered as two figures in armor burst through with pickaxes. The skinnier of two smiled at Freja. "Hello." I could detect the adoration in his voice at her. Also I could hear his British accent.

"W-what? You?" I sputtered recognizing his voice from the rooftop of Roy's almost demolished house.

Dale, I presume his name was regarded me airily. "Do I know you?" He looked at me with confusion. Then the kid paused, and realization hit him.

"I have to kill you." He whispered softly as fire grew in his green flecked eyes. Then Dale lunged at me with determination in movements.

It was my clumsy feet and the rocky ground of the cave which saved my life. Fearfully I stumbled backward and landed flat on my back. Dale's momentum carried him too far forward, and surprised he tripped over my leg and landed beside me with a groan.

Isaac and Clement looked at us with shock. Only Freja looked unsurprised as she looked on with something of amusement. Then I scrambled to my feet and Isaac grabbed my arm as he dashed by. "Run!" He yelled

We dart into the strip mine and run along the narrow confinements. By the pairs of metallic footsteps echoing behind us, Clement and Dale were hot on our heels.

"Freja!" Clement yelled out of breath.

The returning yell was faint, but distinguishable. "I'm the neutral party." Freja's voice danced down the mine.

"Come on." Isaac breathed in my ear as we suddenly abandoned the confined mine for a spacious ravine drenched in darkness.

He guided me around ledge above the daunting lava and jumped down into a small crevice only a couple blocks from the hot liquid. "Crouch." He demanded and I obeyed without question for once. It was a a small space, with an open window showing lava. We could just barely fit comfortably.

Clement and Dale's footsteps gained volume until I could tell for sure that they were right above us. I could hear their metal armor clinking gently against each other.

"Where'd they go?" I'm sure Clement was trying to whisper, but from hiding underneath him it could as well have been a shout. It wasn't long before they noticed the strange hole a few feet from them.

Then one of them hopped off the ledge and right in front of our crevice. He did so to quickly destroy a nearby zombie I hadn't noticed. I held my breath and squeezed into the shadows next to Isaac as we fearfully watched one of them turn in front of us. It was Clement. He met my eyes and I panicked.

I flew out of the hole and smashed into him. My sudden movements startled him and he lost his balance. I turned and started running along the ledge away from the two boys. I could only hope Isaac was following me. But out of the corner of my eye, I saw how hard I had pushed Clement. I had pushed him into the bubbling lava.

Before the teen even had a chance to scream, Dale was right there next to him, dumping water all over the flaming boy. Sputtering with water dripping from his long bangs, Clement scrambled out of the pool. I couldn't see anything else since I was running for my life. By the time I was a dozen or so blocks away I could tell Isaac was right behind me. I could also see the ravine was a dead end.

"Do we fight?" I spun around several blocks from the steep incline to face Isaac. He nodded and withdrew his own sword. I shakily took my own out in preparation for a battle.

"Make sure you're full." Isaac told me quickly as he shoved a piece of meat in his mouth. I followed his lead. By the time I had shoved the pork chop in my mouth, Clement and Dale were upon us.

Clement immediately set out on me, most likely for vengeance. Dale attacked Isaac.

I can't say I've ever been in a life and death sword fight before. I also can't say I didn't like this one. It may sound cheesy, but I felt alive out there. If not for the looming death threat, I would have enjoyed myself. But I also can't say I'm good at sword fighting.

Clement first charged at me with his blade high over his head and a piercing war cry. In the couple seconds it took for him to reach me I sidestepped and lay flat against the wall as he barreled past. As he flew by me I slashed his back and was rewarded with a cry of pain.

"Ow!" Enraged, Clement stumbled to a halt and turned to look at me.

Then we engaged in combat. It's really not as cool as you may think, with swords flashing everywhere. After about thirty seconds the sweat was beaded on my forehead and my arms were strained under the weight of the heavy iron blade. Clement wasn't faring any better.

Blow for blow we aggressively attacked each other. Occasionally one of us would just nick the other, but for the most part fatigue was our regrettable downfall.

Then for the first time in days I did something actually amazing. I saw Clement lunging in for the blow. So I sidestepped to avoid it and went in for a stab to his abdomen.

Next thing I know Clement is writhing around on the ground with pain and I smack him with my sword. Again and again. Then he starts to scream and I feel someone yank at my poised sword arm.

I yank my arm out of their grasp and turn to face them. It was Isaac, looking as sweaty and beat up as I felt, and probably looked. His sparring partner was leaning heavily against the stone wall breathing heavily and clutching his armor clad shoulder.

Isaac's eyes told me everything I needed to know. I lowered an arm and glanced down to Clement. For the first time I noticed the young, tear stained eyes underneath the sweaty brown bangs. He couldn't have been older than twelve.

"I-I'm sorry." I sobbed. I didn't care as Isaac firmly grasped me by the shoulder.

"We're done here." Dale glowered at us with eyes glinting with anger. His nose was bleeding and his lip was pink and puckered, beginning to swell.

I turned to leave, but Isaac didn't budge. "Not yet."

"What more do you want from us?" Dale cried aloud in distress. Clement was still hiding from his miseries on the ground in a sobbing heap.

Dale forcefully chucked his diamond sword on the ground. It clattered to Isaac's feet. He held up his hands in mute defeat.

But it wasn't what Isaac was looking for. "What are the co-ordinates?"

I couldn't hide my confusion. "What?" I leaned in closer and stared at him.

Isaac ignored me. "Well?" He urged Dale impatiently.

"What?" Dale spat, echoing my confusion.

"You know what I'm talking about." Isaac didn't waver.

Dale quickly averted his eyes to the ground. He started to mumble a jumble of numbers. I didn't understand them, but Isaac seemed satisfied. "42, 35, -174?" He repeated. Dale nodded.

"Let's go." Isaac stooped down to pick up the sword Dale had thrown down. He carefully held the sword eyelevel and squinted. "Unbreaking two, sharpness three, knockback one." Isaac read in the faint lava light. "Not bad." Without another word he tossed down his old scratched iron sword near Dale and turned to walk away.

I cast one look at the trembling Clement, and Dale, who wouldn't meet my eyes, then scurried after Isaac as he navigated back to the portal. "What was that all about?" I asked him as we entered Isaac's mine.

"I'll tell you later." He responded and didn't falter in step.

I felt triumphant leaving the scene with a win, but a bit confused about the numbers. But my feelings were short lived.

"Not bad." Freja was sitting on the furnace, swinging her legs absentmindedly. "Scrappy, but a win nonetheless." The woman was clearly relaxed as we turned into the portal room. She was probably chilling by the portal, biding her time until the victorious party returned. Then she'd probably pick them off while they're still recovering. I had to admit, I was exhausted.

Isaac didn't say anything. I guess his mean streak was over, and I had to take charge. "What?"

"You heard me." Freja gracefully slid off the empty furnace and smiled. "So where to?"

"Who said you could come with us?" I snapped and pointed an accusing finger at the blonde.

Freja rolled her eyes yet again. "Well sorry. I guess if you don't want help defeating the ender dragon."

I turned my iron sword around in my hands, still shaking from the fight. I didn't refrain from risking a quick glance behind me every once in a while, those boys might want revenge. I avoided Freja's eyes, unsure of how to approach the situation. Last time someone offered to help us, he succeeded in making me have a breakdown and never came back from the nether. Freja seemed too much like Roy for that matter anyway.

Lifting my head up to look at Isaac. I tried to tell what he was thinking but couldn't. Finally he spoke slowly and intricately to Freja. "Fine. You can come. But if you slow us down, we'll kill you."

The familiar words rang through me and shook me. I shivered as I remembered Roy's similar phrase. Roy didn't hesitate to almost carry that out himself. But would Isaac?

Freja was thinking the same way I was. "You don't have it in you kid." She smiled at me, then to Isaac. "So as I was saying, where to teammates?"

"We'll rest here first." Isaac replied, not tearing his eyes of our new companion.

"I'll take first watch." I offered and raised my hand a little bit. Isaac nodded and walked over to hand me the diamond sword.

"Thanks. Wake me up after a few hours." Then Isaac turned and retreated to a lonely corner.

I smiled as I leaned against the wall, holding the blazing weapon. I suppose someone trusted me then.

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter: Irma and Jordan deal with the blond stranger who mysteriously appears through the portal and leaves. They don't realize the secret he harbors, but when Irma goes out to find some food she finds herself in a horrifying situation.<strong>

**Hello dear readers! I hope you enjoyed this new chapter of their journey. Next chapter, next Tuesday. As always polite and helpful critique is always welcomed. I'm always looking for any errors pointed out, tips, or new ideas. Any other comments in general are welcomed with open arms.**

**Thank you!**

**-Kat**


	9. Go Your Own Way

Irma Harvey woke up and was instantly met with confusion. Why was there a blond teenager in diamond armor in the middle of the bunker? She wasn't the only one confused. Jordan too was staring with wide eyes at the tall stranger.

"Where the hell am I?" The teen glanced at Jordan, expecting an answer as he fell from the portal.

"Um." Jordan kept his eyes on the gleaming sword. "This is like a bunker underground. We just found it." He concluded. "I'm Jordan and that's Irma." Jordan pointed across the room towards the sleepy-eyed girl.

"Hello." Irma smiled and waggled her fingers at him.

The boy stared at her in shock. His eyes widened as he took in all her features. His face paled and he opened his mouth in surprise. But he yanked his gaze away from her and glanced back at Jordan. No one spoke a word, then the teen turned and dove back into the portal.

Irma blinked as he vanished from view. She stood up and stretched, brushing away cobwebs of sleep. "What?" Irma didn't seem startled by the sudden appearance of the teen, but she spoke regardless.

Put on the spot by Irma's questioning look, Jordan shrugged. "You saw just about as much as I did."

Then the boy appeared in the portal frame once again. He seemed downright angry this time. "What the hell?" He angrily swung down from the nether portal and kicked the obsidian blocks swearing.

"Uh are you okay?" Jordan tentatively asked as he backed up to the corner.

"Do I freaking look okay?" The teen dug his hands into his head of dirty blonde curls and yanked at the hair. He looked down to meet Jordan's eyes. The boy's blue eyes were mad with anger and confusion. "I was with two other people and, and I went to the nether to make sure it was safe and instead of going back there I came here."

"What's your name?" Irma piped up. She didn't seem perturbed by the boy's angry speech.

He looked up towards Irma, but didn't meet her eyes. "Roy." He spoke quietly and his gaze softened. Roy leaned up against a side of the nether portal and slid down to the ground.

"I'm sorry that happened to you." Jordan bit his lip, praying Roy wouldn't have another wild outburst. "Nether portal mechanics are pretty weird." Jordan paused in thought. "Couldn't you just go in and wait for your friends to come?"

Roy shook his head. "Nah. I told them not to follow me if I don't come back. And anyway it's not safe in there." Roy gestured to the portal he was leaning against.

Irma and Jordan exchanged concerned glances. "What was in there?" Irma asked. The smile had fallen from her lips in dread.

"Lava." Roy told Jordan. "Like, lava everywhere. As in so much lava I couldn't see anything."

"Did you try placing a block down?" Jordan questioned.

"Yeah." Roy scoffed. "There wasn't any place to put it."

"That's not good." Irma said slowly and started to pace. "Are you after the ender dragon too?"

"Yeah." Roy looked almost hopeful. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say more, but Irma interrupted him.

"Ooh!" Irma clapped her hands together and grinned. "We can go after it together!"

Roy rolled his eyes and stood up. He glanced down at Irma, who was almost a foot shorter than him. "I already tried that once, look where it got me. I'm outta here."

But barely after the words left his mouth his face fell. "I'm sorry." Roy's voice barely rose above a whisper. "But I c-can't. You're here but not..."

Roy's words faded and Irma couldn't catch the last few. "What did you say?" She questioned and leaned forward.

Roy's face grew unemotional once again and he ignored Irma. "Forget it."

Roy stepped forward, but his dramatic exit was cut short. He glanced around for an exit, and after an awkward moment of silence he spotted the cobblestone blocks. Beforehand though, he darted over to the far corner and took out an axe.

"Hey!" Jordan intervened. But Roy payed no mind to him as he destroyed bookcase after bookcase. Neither Irma or Jordan worked up enough courage to challenge the teen with the gleaming weapons.

After the bookcases he turned back to the cobblestone exit. As he started forward Irma called out. "How are you gonna get through the lava?"

"I'll figure it out." Roy took his pickaxe out.

"Water? Nope. Blocks? Nope." Irma chattered on, crossing her arms.

"Shut up." Roy mined out the first block without hesitation.

"You should come with us." Irma protested.

"Irma leave it." Jordan warned the girl.

"Goodbye." Roy left.

Irma was astonished at the stranger's display of action. She looked at Jordan with question, but he was still staring at the gap that Roy had left through.

"Did you get the diamonds?" Irma asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Jordan tore his eyes away and looked at Irma. She repeated her question. "Yeah. Five."

Irma beamed. "Worth it!" She crowed. "I'm feeling fine." Irma waved away Jordan's horrified expression. "So what now? Extreme strip mining?"

Jordan frowned then nodded after a moment of hesitation. "Probably."

"Ugh. That's so boring." Irma whined as she grudgingly sat up.

Jordan nodded sadly in agreement. "There's really nothing else we can do."

"But when should we to into the nether? I mean do you think when we both have diamond chest plates?" Irma's eagerness was overwhelming at that point. Her curiosity won over her caution by a landslide.

Jordan frowned. "At the earliest I guess." Then without anymore delay, the two began to mine. Their long tunnels were maybe ten blocks away, within shouting distance but still finding the most ore they could.

Strip mining was still boring, per usual. Irma's heart skipped a beat with every block destroyed, in the futile hope of some glimmering gems. They only needed eleven diamonds, then they could escape to the nether.

She knew it was silly, but Irma missed warm weather. The damp and cold caves didn't suit her well and she missed the warm sunlight on her face and the sweltering days of stifling heat. A smile came over Irma as she daydreamed about California. In fact, she didn't realize what she was mining until her iron pickaxe crated a higher, lovely sounding noise.

The metallic ping rung through the mine and Irma's eyes grew wide in glee as she saw what was in front of her. It was diamond ore. Contrary to her personality, Irma didn't breath a word. Instead she reached out hesitantly and brushed her fingertips over the blue crystal pieces showing in the stone. They were cold and smooth to touch.

"Jordan!" Irma yelled to the wall. A moment later Jordan's mining got closer until he broke through the wall of Irma's strip mine several blocks behind her.

Irma flattened herself against the wall so he could see the diamond. Jordan grinned. "How come you always find the cool stuff?" It almost sounds like he was complaining.

Irma laughed and moved forward to isolate the gorgeous gem. A couple minutes later the diamonds see hanging impossibly in the air, free of any lava or danger. There was a whopping six diamonds.

Not holding back, Irma proceeded to destroy the blocks that produced the beautiful mineral. Soon she was holding six diamonds. "Yes! Only seven more." Clutching her diamonds she skipped around in triumph.

"We've been pretty lucky so far, hopefully we an get at least that." Jordan stated as he shifted his pickaxe to his opposite hand. "We at least have enough iron for full armor."

Irma nodded in agreement. "Should we head back to drop off stuff?" The poor teen was weighed down with all sorts of ore.

"I guess." Then the two turned and walked down the long tunnel with Irma chatting mindlessly about odd topics. After an awkward journey they managed to find the obsidian bunker once again and headed inside to start smelting ores.

"We're running low on food." Irma mumbled with a frown as she stood on her tip toes to peer into a chest stacked high on the wall. Only a few measly portions of pork were left.

"Hmm?" Jordan inquired from the opposite side of the room with the furnaces

"We're almost out of food." Irma repeated louder as she rocked back and forth on her heels. Her brown hair was messily bouncing on her shoulders. On a whim, she spoke. "Jordan, can you braid?"

"Can I- what?" Jordan glanced up at the teen who was fingering her curly mass of locks. "Uh."

"Never mind." Irma waved away the question with a flick of her wrist. "If its too annoying I can cut it off. I've never had a bob before." Irma resolved. "So should I run above ground to snag us some food?"

"Um." Jordan was still left confused about how Irma's rapid chatter that changed topic without warning. "I don't know." Jordan hesitated. "Alone?"

Irma nodded. "I'll be fine." She spoke exasperated. "The cave is mostly well lit and if its not day out I can wait in the cave."

"I suppose." Jordan still felt hesitant about letting Irma out alone in the world. They had already found out the hard way that they weren't the only ones in the world. "Make sure you have a water bucket handy at all times, you have enough torches, and-"

"Yeah yeah. I've got it mom." Irma was already mining out the doorway blocks when Jordan remembered.

"Here. Take this." Jordan handed Irma a pair of newly crafted boots and a helmet.

"Thank you!" Irma clapped her hands and slipped on the garments. "It's dangerous to go alone." Irma referenced with a grin. "Later Jordan!" Before she left, she turned with question. "Are we gonna made diamond swords and enchant or what?"

Jordan considered it. "I'll finish smelting my armor and then I'll search for diamonds while you're out. When you come back we can probably work on that." Jordan nodded. "You'll get some levels when you kill some animals too."

"Sounds good!" She replied. Then Irma skipped out of the bunker and out of sight.

Jordan sighed at her ignorance and replaced the two cobblestone blocks for the doorway.

Irma skipped up the gradual rocky incline of the cave until she saw the sun rays shine on the stone from around a corner. She darted around the bend, but only to get a blast of sunlight in the face. Wincing, Irma squinted as she left the hole in the ground, which in this case sadly, did not live a hobbit.

Irma almost felt inclined to take off her shoes, to feel the warm, soft grass on her toes. But alas, she had animals to kill. Irma walked slowly through the savannah biome, careful not to stray too far from the cave.

Then she spotted one. Just over the ridge she saw a cow walking among the grasses, with a couple of its offspring. Irma crept slowly towards it, only withdrawing her iron sword when she was mere feet away, but just shy of the unlucky bovine, Irma heard voices.

She lowered her sword in confusion and focused on the noises. By then the cow let out a haughty moo and lumbered off with the two calves in tow. Irma dropped to the ground and crawled army style until she could just peer through the dried grasses over the hill.

What she saw shocked her. It was Roy, the teen who had entered their bunker through the portal and stolen the bookshelves. They were talking but Irma couldn't hear about what. She felt she should stay and watch. She was well hidden, right? Roy had his back to her, but the man he was talking to did not, allowing Irma to view his face.

It was him, the one Irma saw at the desert hut. Those several days ago she wasn't hallucinating. It was Herobrine.

Roy didn't regret leaving Irma and Jordan. Hell, ditching Isaac and Lauren was fine by him as well. Bonus. It was a shame he didn't steal much else besides the bookcases though. And then there was the issue of the nether portal.

Firstly, he'd need to spend a day collecting obsidian and making a portal. Then he'd need to find a way through the lava. Fire resistance potion? Roy was pretty sure you needed stuff found in the nether for one. The there was the issue of coming back through the portal into the obsidian bunker.

As Roy navigated back up to the surface, he considered the aspects of what he could do. Surely he had made the right choice. It would have benefitted him greatly to stay with Irma and Jordan, but they were after the ender dragon. And Roy couldn't let them do that.

He was almost out of the savannah biome just a few steps away from a meadow when he heard footsteps behind him. Roy spun quickly with his sword extended, expecting a mob to fight. But instead, at the point of his sword was a person with glowing eyes.

Roy's own eyes widened as he quickly dropped his blade to his side. "S-sorry." He stammered glancing downcast.

"I need you to kill them." The character spoke with a deep voice, almost godly. His appearance radiated power as he stepped from the shadows.

Roy did a double take. "Kill them?" He repeated. "But you said-"

"There's been a change of plans. I don't need you to just stop them, I need you to kill them." The man took a step towards Roy, then circled until he was behind him.

"Kill them?" Roy repeated with his grip on his sword loosening he didn't turn around to face the figure. Instead, hundreds of thoughts flashed through his mind.

The man sighed. "You heard me. Kill them. Roy, I chose you for a reason. Would I pick you if you were not capable of such a task? I don't need to put thoughts in your mind like with others. Your heart is darkened with grief and longing for revenge. So you will get it.

Roy's heart quickened at his words, memories dancing in his mind. Holding his sword ready, Roy turned to face the man. He was about to decline, but Herobrine spoke first.

"There's someone here as we speak." Herobrine told him calmly. "Prove your loyalty. Kill her."

"Kill her?" For a fleeing moment Roy thought Lauren had caught up with him. But he dismissed the thought as folly. There was no way Lauren had enough stealth to sneak up on him without him noticing.

"Now Roy. Kill her." Herobrine glanced over Roy's shoulder as a hint. Roy fell for it and risked a quick look behind him.

He couldn't see anything. "I-" he turned back around, but Herobrine was gone from the shadow of the acacia.

"I'm watching." The whisper was so quiet and spontaneous Roy wondered of it was all in his head. Never mind that, Roy was now a man with a mission. Kill or be killed.

Without hesitation he charged up the ridge. There was someone there. She backed up, only to stumble and fall down the hill. With a squeal she crashed into the underbrush and scrambled to her knees panting.

By the time she had half a mind to draw out her sword, Roy was upon her. Only when she looked up with fear in her eyes did Roy recognize her, it was Irma, the girl from the obsidian base. But it was too late for remorse now, as Roy leapt into the air with his gleaming sword poised for Irma's neck.

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter: Kill Irma? Roy's not so sure he's up for the task, especially now. When Roy's loyalty to Herobrine wavers, Herobrine resorts to bringing Roy's horrific past back to haunt him.<strong>

**Hey there everyone! Thank you all so much for reading! I'm really enjoying writing this, and it's amazing that you review and read on your own personal time. Thank all so much for reviewing and following!**

**-Kat**


	10. Little Lies

At the last possible second Irma pulled her sword up to shield her body. Roy's blade smashed into Irma's and she threw his sword off with her last ounce of strength. Irma's arm flew uselessly to her side along with her sword flying far away, leaving her defenseless. So Roy went in for the kill.

But as his sword rose in the air yet again, the grey-eyed, curly haired, girl stranger turned into something much more intimidating. "Shannon?" Disbelief filled Roy's words as he looked at what he believed was someone else.

"What?" The girl's bewildered tone brought Roy back to the present. He blinked, and Shannon vanished. Shannon's wild brown hair was replaced by Irma's more tame curls and ocean blue eyes turned grey. Shannon was dead. Irma was alive, cowering before him in terror. The two looked much too alike for Roy's spontaneous hallucination to be a coincidence.

"Why?" Roy screamed and adjusted his sweaty palms on the sword. "Why are they so much alike?" He yelled, causing Irma to cower against the ground in fear.

Out of the corner of his eye Roy saw Herobrine step forward, appearing out of thin air. "This isn't a coincidence Roy." He malicious smile glowed in the shadows. "She's here just for you. Here for you to kill."

Roy opened his mouth I respond but a horrible memory overcame him, a scarred wound reopened.

_"Roy? Are you okay?"_

_"Yeah. I'm fine Ms. Harper." Roy said as he slouched in his chair opposing the perky woman._

_"Call me Lucy, dear." Ms. Harper insisted for possibly the twentieth time that session. She clasped her hands together and gazed at Roy with a faint smile. "Is there anything you want to discuss today?"_

_Roy shook his head and gazed at his untouched ham sandwich. One on one lunch sessions with the school guidance counselor every Tuesday didn't help at all._

_Ms. Harper glanced at the small notebook next to Roy's lunch box. "Have you been writing in your notebook?" She asked politely._

_"Yeah." Roy lied and took the green notebook in his hands. He hid his hands under the table and began to scratch off the price tag. "It helps." He finished dumbly while staring at his sandwich._

_Ms. Harper nodded slowly and pursed her lips. "Maybe you should eat." She eyed the wheat bread sandwich._

_"Not hungry." Roy stared at the sandwich as well._

_"Are you doing anything fun after school today?" Ms. Harper tried to spark conversation._

_"No." Roy instantly made the decision to skip practice again. He stood up with a frown. "I have to go to the bathroom." He announced and turned to leave the room. From the guidance counselor's office Roy promptly left the school altogether._

Roy flinched at the flashback. "Make it stop!" He roared dropping his sword. He squeezed his eyes shut and clutched his head. "I said stop it!"

Herobrine laughed with cold pleasure. "You can make it stop Roy. Just a couple hits, and the pain will be gone. End her now and your memories will stop."

_"Hey, uh Roy?"_

_Roy paused in the empty hallway at his name. He recognized that voice anywhere. It was Tony. Tony the phony. The big gun. The star point guard on the boys basketball team._

_Roy shifted his notebooks in his arms. "Yes?" He turned to look down at Tony. Tony was almost a foot shorter than him as he leaned casually against the lockers._

_Tony stood upright, glanced down at his feet and scratched the back of his neck. "Look man. I heard about your sis. I know things must be hard but you can't skip another practice. Your jump shot needs work and-" Tony never got to finish._

_Roy dropped his school materials on the ground and barreled into the sophomore, slamming him into the lockers. Both boys were surprised at Roy's outward aggression. Roy's arm was barred across Tony's chest, keeping him stuck next to the lockers. Roy's other hand grabbed a fistful of Tony's sweatshirt. In the seconds to follow Roy's pencil rolled across the floor, the only sound in he otherwise silent hall._

_"You have no idea," Roy leaned forward to breath in Tony's ear. "How hard this is." Tony stared at Roy in mute shock. Roy looked into Tony's eyes for a second before letting go of his teammate._

_He turned around to leave, but then thought better of it. Roy spun on his heel with his fist raised and slugged Tony Fisher square in the nose._

_Tony slammed into the lockers and slid to the floor as blood spurted from his nose. Roy turned away and bent down to pick up his notebooks. He heard Tony staggering to his feet and running down the opposite hall. Satisfied, Roy tracked down his pencil where it had rolled down the hall. Now Ms. Spencer better not give him any crap for being late for geometry._

Roy tore at his hair and opened his eyes. The memories were coming back as clear as day, going back in time until that day. He saw Shannon was lying shaking on the ground. "R-Roy?" Her words trembled as did her body. "P-p-please. Roy." Roy realized she couldn't hear Herobrine, it was only him.

"She must think you're crazy now." Herobrine sighed and bent down to pick a bright poppy from the ground. "She's a liability now Roy. She's got to go."

Roy didn't tear his eyes away from the girl. It wasn't Shannon, it couldn't be. Shannon couldn't be alive, could she? She had died, almost three years ago. Roy remembered every moment of it. His mind couldn't help but to wander back to that day.

_"Roy. "I'm scared." Shannon clutched Roy's arm shaking. Her soft voice was barely audible. The two siblings clung together in morbid fear as they crouched next to a rack of cheese curls. It was a small store really, it could only fit four or so aisles. So small, that a whisper could be heard from the opposite end of the shop._

_Roy's grip on Shannon's arm tightened as footsteps suddenly drew closer. It was all his fault, he was going to buy some candy for Anna's birthday coming up. It was stupid of him to let Shannon tag along with him downtown as he bought candy for his crush, especially at eight o'clock. They were probably in the sketchiest area of their neighborhood. Robberies weren't uncommon. But armed robberies, those were rare._

_The gunman's footsteps slowly increased in volume, he had left the cash register. Each footstep jarred Roy's thoughts of panic. What should he do? Shannon's sharp intake of breath brought him back. The man had turned the aisle corner, to look down upon them. In his right hand was a black duffle bag. In his left was a pistol trained on Shannon's face._

_The gunman scoffed and lowered his gun. "Kids. Get outta here." After neither Roy or Shannon had moved he took a step forward. "Now!" He barked in his nasally voice, waving the gun for emphasis. But in that act of shooing them away, a loud noise sounded. The blast left Roy's ears ringing, and a second later he registered it as a gunshot. Then a second after that, Shannon collapsed in Roy's arms._

"My patience is running thin Roy." Herobrine took a few steps forward, until he was standing between Roy and the cowering girl. "Kill her now or you'll have to watch her bleed out. Just like on October third. You'll watch her die. Again." Herobrine withdrew a diamond pickaxe, and turned to Irma with his arm raised.

"No!" In a heartbeat Roy grabbed his sword from the ground and jumped to drive it into Herobrine's back. The blade was just a hair from making contact when Herobrine disappeared. Roy had too much momentum. He couldn't stop. His eyes met the girl's, and for a split second he didn't see his long dead sister Shannon, but an innocent teenager named Irma. Then his sword hit.

The blade pierced through the battered armor and just below Irma's heart. She gasped in shock, and went limp as the harsh metal claimed her life.

"N-no!" Roy's voice cracked horrendously as he dropped to his knees. He reached to gather her in his arms, but as Roy's fingers touched the dead girl's neck, she erupted into pixels. First her feet broke apart in silver pieces to match her boots. Slowly the unseen monster of death consumed her legs, then torso. It hungrily consumed her body. Last to go were her unseeing eyes. Grey and unfocused they were the last to be claimed. In the couple of seconds it happened, Roy felt an uncontrollable sadness well over him. Shannon had died, again.

In his grief Roy's mind thought irrationally. "Shannon!" He cried and tears poured shamelessly from his eyes.

_"Roy." The name was so soft, Roy wondered if he imagined it. The blonde girl lay crumpled on the linoleum, the blood growing every second. Her breathing grew ragged as she sagged against her older brother, as limp as a rag doll. In shock Roy racked his brain for any potential life saving knowledge. He laid Shannon down on the ground and searched for the bullet hole. It was there, right below her heart. Roy applied pressure to the wound._

_"Shannon?" Roy's shaky voice rose in the silent store. There was no response. "Shannon?" Roy cried and shook his sister by the shoulders. Her face was ashen and her body limp. The cold realization hit Roy like a slap in the face._

_A scuffling of feet brought Roy back to reality. He slowly looked up, as if noticing the gunman for the first time. The gunman was holding his gun out from his body in a terrified manner. His gloved hand was still shaking violently from the recoil, and the shock. From under his dark hood a clammy, pale face could be seen along with wide green eyes._

_"You killed my sister!" Roy screamed and slammed into the man. In surprise the man stumbled and fell backward into a rack of chips as the teenager slammed into him. Roy punched him in the face, and then daringly smacked the gun from his hand. The weapon clattered to the ground and slid several feet. Roy punched him again, and again. Roy didn't focus on the corpse of his sister, or the horrified cashier frantically talking to the police, or even the gun sitting just a couple of feet away. No, he concentrated on the cries. The groans of pain and the pleading whimpers of the killer as a grief-stricken fifteen year old got his vengeance. _

_Three minutes later the police arrived to a frightened cashier, an unconscious man with a distorted face, and a teen with bloody knuckles weeping as he cradled his dead sister._

"Why!" Roy croaked as he fell onto the savannah grass. He wasn't able to protect her again, not even after receiving a second chance. He was, he was worthless.

_"No!" Roy cried, tears poured down his cheeks. He stumbled up from the ambulance and jumped onto the pavement they were taking Shannon away. They were taking her away from him He took a few feeble steps before collapsing. The harsh grit stung his face, but he didn't care. He fell apart, his whole life destroyed with that single bullet. He had nothing to live for anymore. And it was all his fault. No, it was the gunman. He was the one that had to pay._

Random objects littered the ground, blocks and decaying tools. Roy scooped them up and took them all. They were the last pieces of her. He took a handful of cobblestone blocks and make a crude burial marker. It was okay though, he'd come back with gold and diamonds to beautify the grave. Shannon did have a profound love of jewelry and gems.

Ropy brush away the tears and forced a wobbly smile. Shannon wouldn't have wanted him to mope around. He stood numbly to his feet and stared at the grave. It needed something, more. A few minutes later Roy had cleared the dry savannah grass from around the grave and placed several bright flowers around it. It would have to do. Giving the grave marker one last looked over, Roy turned away and started in the opposite direction.

"Nice job Roy. I didn't think you had it in you for a moment." Herobrine's devious voice sounded from behind him.

Roy turned slowly, leaving his sword dangling by his side. His heart was to full of grief to hold room for rage. Herobrine was sitting quite relaxed on top of the cobblestone grave. He was twirling a poppy in his hand mindlessly. "Why me?" Roy asked quietly. His eyes were still brimming with tears, and his mind full of confusion.

Hallucinations were so fun. Herobrine hopped off the grave and stepped on each flower in turn, dropping the wilted one who was holding. "Roy, you know why. To carry out my duties I needed someone broken. Someone who had witnessed death, grief, despair. But most of all, I needed someone full of untamed rage."

Roy didn't give any reaction. He continued to stare at Herobrine with no emotion.

Herobrine continued. " You're still angry. Three years later and you still want to murder Brian Howard in cold blood."

Roy finally flinched at the name of the shooter. He turned away, thinking of her sister's killer. "But how," He turned to Herobrine with his brows furrowed in confusion. "Howard killed Shannon." He recalled the day years ago. "Then how did I k-kill her n-now?" Roy turned to stare at the grave in bewilderment. Hallucinations and truths were battling in his head.

Herobrine reached out and placed a hand on Roy's shoulder. Roy shuddered and his eyes grew glassy. "It all makes sense." Herobrine whispered in Roy's ear.

Roy nodded slowly. "It does make sense. We both killed her." He responded in a monotone voice, yet a single tear rolled down his cheek.

"Jordan is Brian Howard." Herobrine grinned as he placed more thoughts.

Roy frowned as his mind registered the fictional situation. "I tried to stab Jordan, but he jumped out of the way and I killed Shannon."

Herobrine nodded, exactly right. "Spot on Roy. Now you have to kill Jordan." He removed his hand from Roy's shoulder. Irma and Jordan were now Shannon and Brian. Perfect.

"I'm going to go kill Jordan now." Roy told Herobrine with hazy eyes. He turned and started walking slowly to the cave.

Herobrine grinned and nodded. "Have fun!" It was all too easy to fool Roy into thinking that Irma was his long dead little sister. Emotion is what drag puny humans down, especially love. Hallucinations were difficult, but the end result was amazing, and they were just too fun.

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter: Herobrine isn't the only one recruiting allies. Lauren gets a surprise visit from an all-knowing stranger who tells her his story.<strong>

**It was simply too much fun to write Roy's heartbreaking past. Expect more character development and back stories for mostly everybody. Thank y'all for reading! Remember to review, favorite, and follow!**

**-Kat**

**xEnderAwesomex - To answer your question about my profile picture, it is actually a picture of a bunch of origami cranes. The picture is quite pixel-y and low resolution so it's hard to tell. I'm probably going to get around to changing it in the future. Thank you so much for your encouraging reviews by the way! :)**


	11. Ask the Lonely

Being sentry for hours at a time alone in a damp, cold, cave isn't as exciting as I anticipated. Well, to be truthful I wasn't really looking forward to being on watch anyway. History class is even more exciting than standing guard. What am I supposed to being watching for anyway? All the exits are blocked. Well, Clement and Dale are still on the loose I suppose. I have a feeling they won't bother us that much anymore though, at least not for a while. Then there's also the question of Roy, well, wherever he is.

I was leaning against the furnace toying with the diamond sword when I heard the scuffling of feet. More confused than concerned, I looked up, expecting Isaac to be awake. But to my horror, it was a stranger I'd never seen before. He was wearing brown and grey, and had had a scruffy black beard. He obviously had a couple decades on me. Like any sane person, my first instinct was to scream. In terror I wobbly lifted my sword with two shaking hands and backed flat against the wall.

But to my absolute horror, neither Isaac or Freja were waking up. "Freja!" I shrieked, since she was closer to me. Without tearing my eyes from the unmoving man I sent out a blind kick. By the bony feel of it, I assumed I had landed my foot right into her face.

"They're not going to wake." The man sighed. He was more soft spoken than I anticipated, and he sounded almost defeated. He gave me an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Lauren. I have to talk to you alone."

"What?" I lowered my sword slowly. The man hadn't shown any hostility anyway. Benefit of the doubt I suppose? "Who are you and how'd you get in here? And, and how come they're not waking up?"

The man frowned. "I suppose I do owe you some answers since I did bring you here."

"What?" I stopped him in his tracks. "You brought us here?" I motioned around us to the blocky walls, forgetting my sword was in my hand.

He flinched at the sword flailing in the air. "I'm sorry. My name is Notch. I brought you here to-"

"Wait wait wait." I held my hand up and Notch trailed off. "Notch? What kind of name is that?"

"Lauren." Notch sighed again, the sound was getting on my nerves. "Can I please speak without any interruptions?"

It took me a moment to realized he had paused, waiting for me to respond. "Uh yeah. Sure. Sorry." I flushed red and shut my mouth.

"Thank you." Notch nodded. "I brought you here because I need your help." He paused and swallowed. "You need to defeat the ender dragon."

I opened my mouth to tell him I was already on it, but quickly thought better of it and let him continue.

Notch dipped his head in acknowledgement. "This is going to be difficult to explain." He hit his lip. "Please try to understand."

I nodded, than sat down against the wall. I had a feeling this was going to be a long story.

Notch began his narrative. "The ender dragon is, is Herobrine's pet." At my utter confusion he elaborated. "Herobrine and I were once friends. Good friends actually. We lived peacefully in this world, going on daring adventures and exploring the land. Together. Then, we found a large almost dungeon like building made of brick. Then-" Notch paused and stared curiously at me. "Let me restart."

I nodded in appreciation as Notch sat down opposite of me on the stone.

"Herobrine and I were avid adventurers, perhaps too much so. We left our people to explore unknown lands and find legendary treasure. We even went as far to disobey our people and venture into the nether. For such a treacherous act, we both should have been banished. But no, it was only Herobrine they sent away. Our proud leader Vault remembered mysterious past grudges and forbade him from returning. There was always an underlying sense of uneasiness about Herobrine, and Vault took the first chance he had to rid of him. That was the start of Herobrine's madness.

Herobrine and I sought the almost the same things in life, fame, glory, and prosperity. But unlike him, I enjoyed more of a dangerous journey than the reward reaped. And unlike him, I wasn't full of greed. His banishment at the village was the start of it all, but what came next truly set him over the edge.

Even after his banishment, I still snuck away to explore with him. I didn't realize at the time that greed was taking him over. I began to notice though, our daring adventures weren't like they used to be. Herobrine was quieter, more focused on our goals. The nice view from a mountain didn't suffice to him, no, he wanted more.

Vault warned me to stop, Herorbine would one day destroy us all, and I didn't lose faith in my friend. Next, we found the ultimate jackpot. The deactivated portal to the End. Herobrine wanted to pursue glory and enter, but I wanted to show the stronghold to our people. Finally, Herobrine grudgingly agreed to stay watch by it while I fetched our friends. I was foolish.

After months of preparation and a couple surveying trips, our people decided to move the to the portal location, and have a grand city underground. Vault led our people the hundreds of chunks to the destination. They were overjoyed at such a discovery, but when we came back to the stronghold, Herobrine was missing and the portal was activated.

Vault was uneasy and immediately blocked the portal room and forbade anyone to enter through the portal. Our leader acted strangely those first few weeks.

The townsfolk honored me with great feasts and named the establishment after me. So the City of Notch was born. Weeks afterward Herobrine silently reappeared. He denied all accusations of entering the End. He was outraged at not receiving credit, and Vault stood by his decision.

Driven by ambition and rage Herobrine publicly challenged Vault for leadership of our people. Vault humbly accepted. When the time came for the battle, Vault humiliated Herobrine within minutes of the short fight. Shamed, Herobrine disappeared and later a hole was found in the portal fortifications. It was as we feared, Herobrine had entered the end. That was the last we saw of him for almost two years.

Our village had thrived for that time. We mined the wonders of the earth and prospered off of them. We established trade with other settlements, using great railroads stretching for thousands of blocks underground. We were the hub of discovery and riches, but we never forgot about Herobrine.

Then one day Herobrine returned, with his loyal pet. How he survived in the end is beyond me, but he broke through the portal riding the dragon. Then he set to the task to destroying the city. It was pure chaos. Herobrine was on a bloodthirsty quest for revenge, and he got it. My people fled down the trade tunnels, but few survived regardless. In the midst of it all, Vault vanished. Our noble leader fled like a coward.

Enraged that the cause for his madness was gone, Herobrine set on destroying the next person on his list. And that was me. Herobrine was angered by the fact that I never defended him in his banishment, or gave credit for finding the stronghold. He chased me, and I ran to the only place I could, and that was the End."

Notch paused his narrative for a moment and coughed in the crook of his elbow. I the realized I was hooked on the story. I was leaning forward in anticipation. "What happened next?" I anxiously asked. Notch coughed once more, shifted his position, and continued.

"The End is truly the End. It is a cold, desolate place full of monsters and terror. It's a floating island hanging over an endless abyss." Notch involuntarily shivered in depicted the retched place.

"Great obsidian pillars mark the ground with powerful crystals on top. Herobrine immediately followed me, like I expected. I used my bow to shoot at him, as he was riding the dragon. I hit the dragon, but it healed using one of the crystals. After dodging Herobrine's attacks I managed to land an arrow to destroy a crystal.

It, it was awful. The raw power running through my veins, the strength, but also the corruption. I then saw the truth, and the key to power. I realized how Herobrine was so strong, the crystals became part of his life force. They granted him unbelievable power. And like him, even though by accident, I became tainted like him. My life was bound to the crystals.

Terrified of Herobrine I tried to fight, but I ended up falling into the void. I should've died that day, but instead I woke up back in the destroyed City of Notch. I can't explain why, as much as I want to know why. Heartbroken at the pure destruction of out once flourishing city, and afraid of what powers Herobrine would unleash on me, I fled."

Notch cleared his throat, his eyes downcast. I could tell he was ashamed of his actions. Anyone would be I mean.

"I have a couple questions." I clasped my hands hands together as Notch looked up. He nodded to his head to continue. "Ok, first of all, why do I need to go the nether?"

Notch frowned. "To get blazes of course. You need ender pearls too. Here's a location of a nether fort." In turn he handed me a slip of paper with a bunch of numbers.

I took the page and stared at the scrawled numbers. "Ok. Sure. Thanks." I would have to ask Isaac about it later. I let the paper slowly drift to the ground. "So I need those ender eye thingies?" I asked Notch. He nodded mutely.

I paused for a moment, thinking about the situation. "You're lying."

"What?" Notch attempted to look taken aback.

"You said when you returned to the City with your people, you found that the portal has already been completed with the ender eyes. From what I've heard, those are indestructible. If they weren't then Vault would have destroyed all of them so Herobrine couldn't return. But if they weren't indestructible, Vault would have blockaded them, which he did. So they eyes can't be destroyed, the portal is complete, yet you want me," I paused to take a breath and tap the open paper in front of me. "You want to me to go here for something I don't. Need. Why?"

Notch looked taken aback. "Y-you really caught on?" He seemed genuinely surprised at my discovery, and guilty.

I put my hands on my hips, trying to look annoyed while sitting down. "I'm not all looks you know. " I rolled my shoulders back and stretched my arms in turn. "So come on, why do you want me to go there?" I was completely aware of how rude I was being, but I continued to push my luck.

Notch didn't seem in the mood for arguing. "I think Vault is there."

"Vault?" I repeated. "Your loser coward leader that ditched?" I glanced down to stare at the numbers. Fingering the paper I glanced up to make a bold remark. "Why can't you defeat the ender dragon? You too scared?"

Notch didn't show any sign of the words hurting him. Instead, he sighed and looked at me. "As much as I would like to Lauren, since Herobrine and I are both linked to the same power, we can sense when one another's near.

"What?" I shrieked. "So he knows where we are now?" I scrambled to my feet and scooped up my sword, warily looking around.

Notch motioned for me to sit down. "Calm down Lauren. It's not that easy." Slowly I sat back down, but never lost grip on the hilt of the blade. "Herobrine may know my exact location right now, but he has no means of knowing what I'm doing."

I nodded slowly. "So basically, you can't kill Herobrine and Toothless here since they'll know you're coming, you enlisted a pathetic mini army of teens to take him down?" I paraphrased.

"Yes. Toothless? The ender dragon has teeth, I can assure you." Notch queried.

I shook my head. "Never mind. But why so we have to to the Nether?"

"I told you, to speak with Vault." Notch said again.

"I know, I know. Vault is there, your coward leader. But why is it necessary to speak with him?" I asked exasperated, fiddling with the sword pommel. "Can't we just charge in and slay the dragon?"

Notch shook his head. "No. I believe Vault has something that could help you. He may be able to provide more information than I can. His knowledge of this is superior to mine. I'm afraid I can't offer you any more help, besides this." I looked up from my sword to see Notch placing a fancy glass bottle on the stone between us.

Inside of it was a swirling liquid of orange. Enticed, I stared at the sparkling liquid. "One more question." I announced to Notch. "Am I allowed to tell Isaac?" I glanced up to meet Notch's eyes, but there was no sign of him. "Notch?" I called out and painstakingly got to my feet.

"Lauren?" I turned to see Isaac sleepily blinking his eyes as he propped himself up on a shoulder. "You okay?"

"Uh yeah." I stopped down to pick up the bottle. The glass was cold to the touch, and the liquid splashed around inside as I hefted it in the air.

I was internally debating whether to tell Isaac about Notch when he spoke. "What's that?" Oops. No going back now. I walked over to where he was sitting in the corner.

"I don't know." I sat beside Isaac and handed his the bottle.

By now he was wide awake and gingerly took the bottle from me with both hands. He turned it around in his hands, examining it. "It's a potion of fire resistance." He declared and handed it back to me. "How'd you get this?"

"Um. Well." I opted to tell Isaac about Notch. "There was a person who came here." At Isaacs alarm I continued. "It's okay. His name was Notch, and-"

"Notch?" Isaac repeated. "Are you sure?" I nodded and Isaac paled. "Go on." He urged.

I did. I repeated Notch's story to the best of my ability, making sure to leave no important details out. I also made sure Isaac heard of my realization about the portal and Notch trying to trick us. By the time I finished Notch's narrative, Isaac was pale and his eyes wide.

"What's wrong?" I asked him with concern.

"Notch, he's a real person. He's the creator of Minecraft." Isaac confirmed shaking his head. "This, this doesn't make sense."

I shrugged. "It doesn't matter. We just need to get to the Nether, talk to Vault or whatever, then kill Herobrine. I don't know what this is for though." I tapped the potion with one of my nails and it produced a high sharp note. "Does the name Vault mean anything to you? Is that someone else?"

Isaac shrugged as he sat up. "Never heard of it as a name for a person. I suppose we should wake Freja and get going."

I nodded and stood up, walking over to where the sleeping woman lay. I bent down and gently shook her shoulder. "Wake up. We're gonna get going soon." Freja groaned and her eyes fluttered open, only to snap shut at the light. She mumbled an inaudible response and rubbed her eyes with her hands.

For the next twenty minutes or so the three of us gathered all of our supplies for the trip to the Nether. We crafted Isaac iron leggings and packed the bare necessities.

"How much sleep did we get?" Freja asked casually as we made torches side by side. At her query I realized I must have stayed up all night, since I was talking to Notch and never woke up.

"Uh I don't know. Several hours?" I guessed to satisfy Freja. She has already expressed her distaste of our dive bombing into the Nether.

"I think I should head in first, then check to make sure everything is safe, then come back." Isaac told us when we all stood facing the portal.

I immediately found flaw with his idea. "Just like Roy?" I commented.

"Who's Roy?" Freja asked, annoyed to be left in the dark all the time.

"Someone who traveled with us before you came." Isaac responded and hefted out the potion.

"What happened to him?" Freja eyed the red potion.

Isaac looked up from the potion and to the portal. "He went into the Nether, and never came back." Without another word Isaac took a couple steps forward and leapt into the Nether.

There was a pause after Isaac left, then Freja broke the silence. "That idiot's an idiot." She stated with a sigh and shifted her weight with her arms crossed. "Not a bad dramatic exit though."

"Yeah. I guess." I replied. Isaac didn't strike me as someone reckless. But right now. I was more worried on wether or not Isaac would make it out of the Nether alive.

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter: Roy comes to terms with Jordan, who is ultimately confused and worried about Irma.<strong>

**Hello again! Thank you all so much for reading, any helpful feedback or comments are highly encouraged. I really want you all to enjoy the story, and feedback really is helpful. Thank you so much for your time!**

**-Kat**


	12. Urgent

About an hour or so later, Jordan began to grow uneasy. Just right outside the cave were small herds of animals. Shouldn't Irma be back now? Jordan tried to shake off the unsettling feeling. Irma was probably trying to be an overachiever and get a stack of each type of meat.

To pass time Jordan began to sort out all the items. He evenly distributed coal amongst each of the furnaces and started to sift through his inventory. After twenty minutes of the mindless task Jordan was so on edge, he decided to act.

Jordan tossed several pieces of cobblestone in one of the many furnaces. A couple minutes later he withdrew blocks of smooth stone. Jordan left the bunker, sealing the gap in the wall with the newly created blocks. Then he hiked up to the surface through the dark cave system.

When Jordan reached the surface the great sun was just setting down in the horizon, on the verge of casting the world into shadows. Wielding a torch Jordan set forth to search for Irma, his sword on hand. Until he saw something sticking up from the earth.

It looked like a small pillar. As Jordan slowly and warily approached he noticed it was made from cobblestone.

Was it a marker? Remains of something bigger? Maybe it extended further underground. But as Jordan peered around to inspect the fourth side, his heart skipped a beat and the pillar's purpose was evident.

It was a gravestone. Marking the ground on the fourth side was a small array of crumpled flowers. It was no coincidence of them all being there. Furthermore, Jordan was almost positive it hadn't been there the afternoon in which they found the savannah.

Jordan was in such shock he immediately sat down in front of the grave, in mute confusion. It didn't make sense. If, if Irma had died, who would have buried her? If someone had murdered her, why would they then bury her?

Deep in his thoughts Jordan tossed a torch on the ground in front of him. It lit up the tombstone well. As Jordan leaned forward to fix the wilted flowers, he realized something. The flowers weren't naturally wilted, no; they almost looked like someone had stepped on them.

As Jordan started to prop the flowers up on top of one another, he made a realization that woke him up from his blind shock. This wouldn't be Irma's grave. There are no signs of anyone else being here, and Irma couldn't bury herself now could she? It was clear now.

Jordan grinned, on the verge of embarrassment. Irma most likely made graves for the animals she killed. It seemed like Irma logic. The flowers were a nice touch too. But where would Irma be now?

Jordan picked himself up from the ground and turned to continue to look for the girl. He blindly walked up a hill with only a torch as his relief from the darkness. When he reached the peak of the small hill, he squinted into the night. Jordan was hoping for a torch bobbing in the darkness, or Irma's cheerful laugh, but there was nothing.

As Jordan lifted his foot to advance down the hill, a glint caught his eye. Reflecting the torchlight was a sword. Instinctively Jordan leapt back from the glinting blade that lay unmoving in the tall grass. Jordan was about to ask himself why there was a diamond sword just laying in the grass, and if it was Irma's, when it sprang to life.

"You killed her!" The bloodcurdling scream shattered the still night as a figure exploded from the grass with rage. The attacker took the hilt of the diamond sword with both hands and drove it down fast on Jordan.

With the blade bearing down on him Jordan could only do so much as drop his torch and bring his own sword up to parry. Both swords emitted a sharp metallic grinding noise and sparks flew on contact. As their blades locked Jordan realized who the swordsman was. It was Roy, the teen who refused to join them. And now he was trying to kill Jordan.

Both swords glanced off each other as both struggled to lift their swords, Jordan wielding iron, and Roy enchanted diamond. As Roy struggled to lift his blade again, Jordan took the opening and darted in with a stabbing motion to Roy's abdomen. As his sword made contact with the diamond armor, Jordan realized he wasn't going in for the kill. He wasn't that sort of man.

Roy's blue eyes widened and he flinched as the sword made contact. He stumbled backwards several steps and caught himself from stumbling down the hill. Jordan was surprised at Roy's quick recovery time. He would have thought the tall kid would have been clumsier.

Jordan spread his feet and stooped lower, trying to hack at Roy's lanky legs, to set him off balance and tumbling down the hill. But Roy's managed to stretch down and block the blow, and then he reared up and smashed his blade into Jordan's left side. "You killed her!" Roy screamed again, feeding of rage as he sent Jordan tumbling to the ground.

A hot pain spread over Jordan's body and by the time he realized he was on fire, the flames had burned out by themselves. He gasped at the pain and his vision swarmed with colors." I didn't kill anyone!" Jordan cried out in pain held his sword wobbly in the air and Roy loomed over him. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

Jordan looked into Roy's eyes and realized his mistake. You can't reason with madness. Roy's eyes were red and bloodshot, his lips turned into a permanent scowl, and his brows drawn tight in anger. He looked, insane.

"You killed Shannon." For a second Roy's mask fell, revealing a heartbroken child. But a second was all Jordan needed. Acting quickly Jordan sprung up from the ground and with as much strength as he could muster, shoved Roy. The six foot two teenager was then sent tumbling down the gradual hill. Jordan heard the clinks of armor and colorful swears as Roy fell.

Jordan didn't wait for Roy to recover. Instead he turned tail and fled. It wasn't a fight he could win. Even though Roy only had a diamond chest plate and leggings, he flaming sword could easily be the end of him. Sprinting Jordan followed the trail of torches he had left behind that led to the cave.

He knew Roy would follow him, but hopefully he had bought himself enough time to snag the diamonds and any other useful items from the chests and escape. Jordan didn't dare look behind him; he had enough fear to keep going. He looped through the twists and turns of the caves, almost passing the spot where the obsidian bunker was located.

Jordan quickly mined out the smooth stone, and then his heart dropped when he realized he had only one block of smooth stone left. It would have to suffice. Jordan darted around the bunker, sifting through each chest's contents for useful items. He was packing up the last of the items he needed when he heard the footsteps.

They were soft, Roy was trying to sneak up on him. Eyes wide Jordan gripped his sword and glanced around the room in a panic. He could hear the block being mined out, Jordan was right beside the entrance. The Nether was too far away, several blocks away in fact and right in the entrance's plane of sight.

Jordan made up his mind quickly. He pounded the button attached to the command block. It made a soft click, then Jordan was off to the city.

In the blink of an eye Jordan was teleported. After a fraction of a second he disappeared and reappeared a thousand blocks away. The whole process was unnerving, especially after the small fight with Roy. When Jordan reappeared he felt instantly guilty at running away from the fight, and leaving poor Irma to fend for herself. Hopefully the girl would know enough to not approach the madman.

By looking around Jordan quickly perceived that he was in some tower. It was made from dry and creaky wood with a staircase winding up too far for the eye to see. Jordan craned his neck, but couldn't see anything of interest besides the height of it and the torches dotting the walls. Jordan distrusted the old, gnarled stairs too much to climb them. Time to explore.

Jordan tentatively stepped out of the safe tower. He didn't want to leave it's comforting structure, but Roy could be after him. He couldn't risk it. Jordan stepped forward and landed his foot on the pressure plate. With a sharp click the door swung open, to reveal utmost darkness. Jordan slowly took out a torch, and slowly held it out in front of him. His feet stepped forward until he was standing on a rocky outcrop. A couple pebbles broke away from the rock source and bounced down the decline. By the distant echoes and the time before the rocks were too faint to hear, the place seemed cavernous. A zombie's moan broke through the silence, too distant to be any threat, but close enough to unnerve him. Without hesitation Jordan reeled back his arm and flung the torch forward.

It was a city in ruins. Jordan couldn't figure out why Dale or Clement, he forgot which one had written the note, had described it so vividly as 'paradise city'. By the looks of the place and the cold, stale air Jordan was deep underground. The stone ruins were chipped and cracked, great pillars had tumbled to the ground in heaps of dust, nerve to rise again. Burnt timber was scattered around a large open space that must have once occupied thousands. Maybe a dozen small caves systems snaked forward to be exposed in the gigantic cavern. The torch had by then risen and fallen, disappeared down a small crater.

The great cavern was thus again casted into seemingly perpetual darkness, before Jordan started to place down torches. It was a poor attempt to illuminate the lost city. Jordan realized Roy would have no trouble finding him, but he didn't care. It was better than death by falling off an unseen cliff. He slowly stumbled rather ungracefully down the outcrop, where he consistently placed down another torch. He was on the outskirts of the wide crater the torch had disappeared down. Footsteps interrupted his thoughts and a creeper silently ambled into the torchlight. Jordan quickly killed it, furiously beating the beast. Throughout the exploration of the cave he dispatched several more bothersome monsters.

Jordan carefully located himself around it. But along the edge of it his curiosity beat out any caution. He approached the edge and kneeled right on the brim of the hole. Holding his torch over it, nothing but darkness still met his eyes. Then he promptly dropped the torch. Jordan's keen eyes followed the light source down, down, until it was just another twinkle amidst the stars. Impossible. There was no way. How could there be a giant crater leading to the void in the overworld?

Thoroughly confused Jordan stood up and took another torch. He couldn't afford to waste anymore. He turned to leave the void hole and a light caught his eye. Keeping his sword at the ready Jordan advanced though wreckage towards the light shining on a wall around a bend.

On the way to the light Jordan stepped forward on a hard, hollow sounding block. On inspection Jordan realized it was a rotten, tarnished chest. Planting his feet on the ground and a torch beside him Jordan tugged on the creaking chest. Soon after a persistent yank it flipped open. Later did it occur to Jordan that the chest could have been trapped. Jordan pawed through the contents hopefully, but the only rewards reaped was a stack of cobblestone and some coal. Everything else was worthless. Jordan snatched the items and kicked the lift of the chest back down.

Then he plucked his torch up from the ground and continued to investigate the light in question. When he turned the bend to view the light he instantly spotted the makings of a home. A wooden door surrounded by neat and orderly smooth stone forming an arch over it. A torch was placed on either side of the door. Jordan lowly advanced forward to peer through the windows in the door, with his sword at the ready.

Through the windows Jordan couldn't see anything out of the ordinary for an underground home in Minecraft. So he gently pushed the door open to invade the home. He's wasn't planning to rob anything, just investigate. The base turned out to be much larger than he anticipated. There must have been at least a dozen small, compact rooms, each with it's own purpose. A kitchen, bathroom, storage, bedroom, even an enchanting area, complete with lapis lazuli. Jordan was sorely tempted to 'borrow' some lapis, craft a diamond sword with the few diamonds he had on hand, and then have a much better sword.

He opted to explore the base some more, then come back later. Jordan soon realized that there was extreme order in the base. It was set up like a grid. Each room, or square in it was a cozy seven blocks by seven blocks. The storage room was deeper underground though, and was much larger to fit all the chests with their assorted labels. Whoever lived here certainly liked order, and by what Jordan saw in their chests, they seemed to be well off with a few spare diamonds.

After a fruitless inner debate, Jordan decided to enchant. He sorely needed an upgrade. Jordan first located a crafting bench in the maze of rooms and using his very own diamonds, crafted a new sword. Praying for good luck, Jordan glanced at the possibilities. Instantly he hit a jackpot. A possible enchantment was Sharpness IIII. Jordan held his breath and placed down three pieces of lapis he had borrowed. Then, he realized he didn't have enough levels. He had only eleven. How dreadfully anticlimactic.

Jordan sighed and dropped the newly crafted sword back down to his side. He guessed it would have to wait. He didn't want to waste a good sword on a bad enchantment. He wasn't in the mood for Knockback II or Bane of Arthropods I. Time to mine anyway. Jordan put the three lapis back in the chest beside the enchantment table so not to arise suspicion. He said goodbye to the book shelf covered walls of the enchantment area and the neatly organized living space and headed to the door.

His handle was on the door when he felt something was very wrong. Through the window of the door he saw a faint light, bobbing in the distance and growing closer very quickly. Jordan's heart skipped a beat. The stranger would surely see all the torches leading to the house. What if it was Roy? Jordan hid behind a stack of bookshelves in the bedroom. It had to be morning by now, if they lived here they wouldn't go to sleep yet, would they?

Jordan heard a door swing open and close. Then someone shuffling around. A single voice started, but it was too muffled for Jordan to make out. Was there more than one? He was about to creep closer to look when soft footsteps padded in the hallway outside, then turned the corner. It was a dog.

Well, a wolf to be exact. He was a well kept and fed with a bright blue collar. His sleek grey coat was brushed well, and his dark eyes stared at Jordan with utmost confusion. A growl started to rise in its throat. Jordan couldn't believe himself, but he put his finger over his mouth in a shushing motion. The wolf pawed at he stone and barked once, then twice.

Jordan jumped, then took a step forward to shush the dog. But it only started to bark madly. "Raz? What's wrong boy?" A young voice called out, growing closer. Jordan was cornered. Then the owner of the wolf turned the corner.

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><p><strong>Next Chapter: Isaac, Freja, and Lauren venture into the Nether in hopes of finding the one Notch calls Vault. Soon Freja becomes wary of the group, she feels they aren't telling her everything. Freja isn't the only one stirring up distrust. Another member holds a secret that could cost them their lives.<strong>

**Hello! I hope you all are having a fantastic day! I know I am. Remember to leave any feedback, favorite and follow! A lot of information is going to be thrown at you in the next chapter, more backstory.**

**-Kat**


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